Restitution
by Mike Taurguss
Summary: GTAS 7Gabrielle's pregnancy is overshadowed by a sudden crippling ailment suffered by her husband. Is this simply the result of an old injury, or is something more sinister at work?
1. One On The Way

**Restitution – Part 1**

**One On The Way**

It wasn't the echoing silence of the ancient halls that bothered her. It wasn't the never ending carved white columns of perfectly etched stone, or the roiling of the clouds beyond the walls that bothered her either. All in all, Olympus had fared rather well, considering how many of her relatives had been eliminated. She just hated being alone!

Aphrodite moved slowly down the long white corridor, past several chambers that had once housed her extended family members.

Some of the rooms were still occupied, but mostly with newer or less social deities. And even though she loved a good soirée whenever she could find one, these younger gods didn't have a clue, or made her feel, dare she think it? Old? Even her son, Cupid, had gone out of his way to try and help his mother with her melancholy, but to no avail.

She had her usual bevy of servants, always at her beck and call for anything she might want, but even that seemed empty. Even the newer acolytes were just like the old ones. It was all the same old thing. The adulation and worship still felt the same, the massages and pedicures that used to make her feel so much better, didn't have the same zip to them. Even the physical gratification, when she chose to find it, was less than noteworthy.

As she passed by the Sanctum of Reflections, she spied a familiar shape, crouching over the pool that gazed down upon the world. Even though she knew it would most likely end up in an argument, she stepped inside and strode over toward him.

"Hey Bro," She said in a melancholy voice. "What's on the tube?"

Ares was rubbing his beard thoughtfully as he looked down at his 'top ten' as he called them. There really was nothing of import happening at the moment. It had been a quiet year and that annoyed him.

"Nothing,' he finally sighed. "Absolutely nothing!" He rose and paced away, his hand fidgeting on the hilt of his sword. "What's happening to those humans down there?" he blurted out. "You'd think one of them might show a little flair?"

Aphrodite seated herself at the edge of the pool and sighed. "Dad always said there'd be times like this?" She offered. "When the world sleeps for a time before things really heat up again? Especially in your line of work?" She looked up at him and shrugged. "You done with this?"

Ares waved a dismissive hand at her and turned away. "Yeah. Nothing worth watching anyway."

Aphrodite waved her hand over the mirror surface of the water and watched as some of her favorites popped into view, one at a time. She was also unimpressed by what she saw until the image of a small homestead appeared. She smiled when she recognized the barn, the pavilion and her eyebrows rose when she saw the new house. It was a thick, log structure, simple and sturdy. Small bushes and flowers adorned the front side and the flagstone walk looked polished and well worn. A single figure came from the barn and dunked his head in a large barrel of rainwater. The water sprayed in all directions when he raised it out again, shaking it wildly. Aphrodite laughed out loud and then sighed when she saw David, covered up to the elbows in sawdust and smiling contentedly.

"Hey, honey!" he called toward the house. "It's done! You want to see it before Timitus comes by to pick it up?"

Aphrodite willed the image to move to the side and saw Gabrielle emerge from the house, dressed in a simple cream colored dress of local fashion. She held a towel in her hands as she smiled at him. Instantly, the Goddess noted the slight protrusion of her belly.

She squealed in delight and clapped her hands. "Way to go you two!" she laughed.

"What?" Ares asked, turning back to face her.

Aphrodite frowned up at him as he looked at the image.

"Nothing you'd be interested in," she said. Ares watched the image for a moment, then he waved his hand over the water and the image reversed itself so he wouldn't have to watch it while it was upside down.

"Hey!" The Goddess protested. "You had your turn!"

"Shut up," Ares said absently. "Don't you have a shopping spree to go on with or something?"

Aphrodite's eyes went like ice and she made a mean face, but Ares wasn't paying any attention. He slowly crouched down toward the water and a smile began playing at his lips.

"Well, well, well," he mused, once again stroking his beard. "Looks like my little Gabrielle went and got herself pregnant again?"

"Your little!" Aphrodite hissed angrily. "I'll have you know that it was me that actually got the two of them together in the first place!"

"You helped David get where he needed to go," Ares nodded. "Thanks, by the way. But this was all part of my plan." His eyebrows rose inquiringly. "Still, it didn't take them long, did it? They must have been busy?" He looked down at Gabrielle again, standing with David's arm around her shoulders. Smiling, he zoomed in on the young woman's belly.

"Wonder what the kid will be?" His eyes went wide and his jaw fell towards the marble floor in amazement. Then he began to laugh out loud and he slapped the water in glee. The image vanished as the waters rippled.

"I knew it!" He shouted. "I knew there was a loophole!" He laughed again. He strode quickly out of the room laughing as he went.

Aphrodite watched him depart, secretly wondering if she should try and zap him, just once in the posterior, then she looked back down at the calming water and her expression changed from one of annoyance to wonder.

"Oh, boy!" She gasped. She numbly stood back up and backed away from the pool, as if the image frightened her in some way. Her mind raced at a league a minute as she thought. In spite of the news, that same melancholy resided, just beneath the surface. It was quickly replaced by the turning of the ideas in her head. Maybe she could kill two birds with one stone?

Looking back to make certain Ares was nowhere to be seen, she squinched up her face and then vanished in a small puff of sparks.

Gabrielle walked slowly around the newly built bed and smiled knowingly. "You know," She said. "This is going to give Beltanus a bunch of ideas?"

David chuckled. "Well, He and your sister are getting married, right?" He grabbed a piece of wool, coated in sand and rubbed at a small point on the footboard until it was smooth enough to pass his inspection. "They'll need a place to sleep?"

Gabrielle pushed on the base board and looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. It was rock solid.

"Place to sleep?" she asked.

"Yeah, well," David said, suddenly a bit uneasy. "My stuff is built to last!"

"I'll bet," Gabrielle replied. She slipped under his arm and kissed him on the cheek. Then she spied another project, covered in a large tarp.

"What's that?" she asked. "Something else for Lila and her future husband?"

"Hmm?" David asked, and then he followed her gaze and smiled. "Oh, no. Those are for us, when the time is right."

"Those?" Gabrielle walked quickly over to it and grabbed the corner of the tarp. "What are they?"

"No, wait!" David said quickly, but it was too late.

Gabrielle flipped the tarp over and her breath caught. She looked down at the small bassinet and the even smaller hobby horse, painstakingly built and intricately carved.

"They're not done yet," David finished nervously.

He moved to stand behind her and wrapped his arms about her shoulders.

"They're wonderful," she said, her eyes shimmering.

David smiled. "Yeah, I figure that will look good next to the fireplace." He said, nodding to the small hobby horse. "Especially when junior's rocking back and forth on it?"

Gabrielle's smile widened and she looked up at him. "You don't know it's a boy?"

David chuckled. "Sure I do."

"I think it's a girl," Gabrielle countered.

"Ah, you're biased," David shrugged. "I'll attribute that to hormonal imbalance?"

She jabbed him in the gut playfully.

"Ow, see what I mean? One minute your all mushy, the next you're beating the stuffing out of me? Imbalance, all the way." He grinned. "I don't know how I'm going to survive the next six months like this?"

"Oh, you'll survive," Gabrielle said, leaning back against him. "For the most part?"

"Hello?" a cheerful voice called from outside. "Anybody home?"

David and Gabrielle looked at one another and rolled their eyes.

"In here, Aphrodite!" David called over his shoulder.

The Goddess of love floated into the barn, her arms wide and a huge smile on her face.

"Gabby!" she said, pushing David away and wrapping her arms about the other woman. "I just heard!" She squealed in delight. She stepped back and looked her up and down and her expression changed to something softer, but no less happy. "Oh, you look so beautiful! You're glowing!" she said and she hugged her again.

Gabrielle laughed and returned the enthusiastic hug.

"Hi Aphrodite," David said neutrally.

"Yeah, hi," Aphrodite replied quickly. Then her entire being was focused on the young bard. "There's so much we have to do. You're going to need maternity stuff, and then there are the clothes for the baby!' She trembled with anticipation. "Oh, I love shopping for baby clothes!" She ushered David's wife out of the barn, her mouth going a mile a minute.

David watched them depart and sighed.

"It's good to see you too," he said, speaking aloud to himself. "How've you been? Fine Aphrodite, thanks for asking? You? Oh fine. We were going to have lunch soon? Want to join us? Why, thank you David, I'd be delighted?" He continued his little monologue as he strolled out of the barn after them.

When he stepped into the house, he found Aphrodite looking about the cozy interior and nodded.

"It's not what I'd call home, but it's nice," She complemented. "You've got this cozy, rustic modern thing happening. Nice."

Gabrielle was shaking her head.

"Thanks," David said. He stepped past the Goddess and kissed Gabrielle dutifully. "I'm gonna change clothes. I'll be back in a second."

Gabrielle watched David leave the room and sighed. "He broke his back building this place," she said thoughtfully. "You should have seen him working when he found out?"

Aphrodite laughed. "Really got things moving, huh?"

Gabrielle's smile faded a bit. "If Hercules hadn't stuck around to help, I'm actually a little afraid of what might have happened?"

"What do you mean?" Aphrodite asked.

Gabrielle blinked. "What? Oh, nothing."

Aphrodite saw the unconvinced look on Gabrielle's face.

"Gabby?"

Gabrielle shrugged. "I don't know. It's just, well, he seems to be moving a little slower lately. He covers it up as soon as he knows I'm watching, but I don't know?" She shrugged again. "Maybe it's just me?"

"Gabby," Aphrodite said reassuringly. "You know David would tell you if there was something wrong."

David tossed his pants into the basket in the corner and reached into the dresser for fresh clothes. He tossed the jeans and a shirt on the bed and then went to rise.

The pain knifed up his spine, and he froze in shock, his hand clamping on the top of the dresser as he fought to keep from groaning aloud as he winced.

Slowly, he forced himself to stand erect, and then he pulled a drawer open and tapped four small pills out of the tiny bottle that lay within.

He swallowed them down and let himself sink onto the bed, feeling his back protest some more. He looked down at the remaining contents of the bottle and winced again. He was burning through the Advil too fast.

He forced himself to get dressed and struggled upright. The pain eased once he was standing again and he sighed with relief. Wiping a thin layer of sweat from his face, he stepped back out into the main room.

"Anyone hungry?" he asked cheerfully. "I was going to throw some lunch together?"

"Sure," Gabrielle replied easily. She looked up at their guest. "You hungry?"

The Goddess looked at David closely for a moment and then smiled. "Sure. But you better be doing more than making cold sandwiches?"

"Not my style," David smiled. Then he looked at Gabrielle. "Provided you haven't cleaned us out again?"

Gabrielle frowned. "I haven't been eating that much?"

David laughed. "Dite, you should see her? I've got to head into town at least twice a week now that she's eating for two?"

"You do not?" Gabrielle countered.

Aphrodite smiled as she watched the two of them quibble. It was just so darned cute!

"Come on in the kitchen," Gabrielle offered. "You can see a master at work."

"What," Aphrodite asked. "He can cook too? Girlfriend, you really did luck out!"

They passed into the small, comfortable kitchen, Aphrodite seated herself in one of the sturdy padded chairs that David had made and nodded in approval. "This whole place is cozy," she commented. "It's like this summer retreat I had up in Pinelas? When the snow was falling?" She smiled at the memory. "Just get a nice fire going in the hearth and then –" She stopped when David accidentally dropped one of the knives he was using to carve some ham.

Gabrielle frowned. "What's wrong, David? You never miss when you're cooking?"

David smiled. "Just a little tired, I guess?" he said, trying to ignore the sudden numb sensation in his fingers. He made a fist a couple of times and stooped to retrieve the knife. That was when the numbness shot down his arm, through his spine and into his legs. He dropped like a rock. His spine seemed to lock in place.

"Okay," He grimaced. "This could be bad?"

"David!" Gabrielle jumped up. The two women rushed to his side.

"It's okay, it's okay," David said quickly. "Just a strain in the back is all. Really? Just give me a second?"

The numbing sensation was suddenly replaced by a fire that seemed to spread across his entire back. He groaned in agony.

"Help me get him to the bedroom," Gabrielle said urgently. The two women slowly began to help David rise.

"Easy, easy," David protested as the pain began flowing through his legs. "Just go slow, okay?"

They got him up into the bedroom and slowly lowered him down onto the bed. His breathing was coming fast as they tried to help him get comfortable. His face was a mask of pain.

Once they got him settled, his breathing slowed and his expression relaxed.

"What can I do?" Gabrielle asked him urgently. She looked up at Aphrodite who merely shook her head helplessly.

"Hey, I'm a Love Goddess," She shrugged. "This is a totally different department?"

"Baby," David winced. "I got the stove lit. Get a few rags and soak them in water, then heat them up on the stove top and put them on my back, that'll help loosen things up, okay?"

Gabrielle went to rise, but Aphrodite held up a hand to stop her.

"Hot towels?' she said. "That, I can do." She blinked deliberately and instantly a bowl appeared on the small nightstand, filled with steaming towels.

"Those will stay hot as long as you need them. I use them at the spa," She nodded with a sympathetic smile.

Gently, the two women stripped David's shirt and pants off, turning him onto his stomach.

He grinned in spite of the pain.

"Two women undressing me?" he commented. "One of them, the Goddess of Love? This has possibilities?"

"Snap out of it honey," Aphrodite smiled gently. "Cause you're already dreaming."

Gabrielle smiled in spite of herself. They got him situated, and Gabrielle gently draped the first of the towels across his lower back. The second across his shoulders and a third across the middle.

"Okay?' Gabrielle asked. "Now what?"

David groaned. "Now, we wait." He sighed, feeling the warmth soaking into his skin. "I was thinking, drinks on the porch, maybe a game of shuffleboard?"

Gabrielle's smile faded, but only a little. "You're not shuffling any boards for the time being." She said.

"Look,' Aphrodite added. "I'll get some food delivered, okay? You guys just take it easy for a little while?" She stood up and vanished in a shower of gentle sparks.

Gabrielle looked down at him and smiled.

"Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?" She asked.

"Because I wasn't hurting until just a few minutes ago," David replied. "Not that much."

"What happened?"

"I don't know?" David replied. "I think it's from when Hercules and I had the problem with one of the roof trusses?"

Gabrielle frowned at him. "That was over a month ago," she said. "You said it was nothing to worry about?"

"I didn't think it was?" David replied. "I popped a couple of Advil and that seemed to do the trick, then I just took it easy for the rest of the week?"

Gabrielle frowned at him more. "Which week was that?" she asked. "If it wasn't the last of the repairs on the barn, it was the house, or Lila and Beltanus's wedding present, or the other stuff for the baby? When have you taken it easy?"

"Alright," David confessed. "Guilty as charged."

Gabrielle's frown melted into a smile. "I'm not even counting all the things you've been running around and doing for me?"

She stroked his hair. "You've been going like a Valkyrie in a windstorm since we got back. It was only a matter of time before it all caught up with you?"

She sighed. "You've talking about how you want me to relax, so everything stays right for the baby. Well, you need to relax too, sometime?"

"I'm pretty relaxed right now," David smiled.

"And if you had a choice?" Gabrielle shot back.

David said nothing and closed his eyes. "I'm too weak to argue with you, honey. You're right, as usual. I have been pushing myself."

He tried to adjust himself slightly when a searing current of pain rocketed up both his legs.

"Whoa!" He cried out. "That's new?"

Aphrodite made the 'arrangements', as she called them. Once that relatively simple task was complete, she sought after the first person that she suspected.

She found him in the Sanctum of Reflections again, staring down at the still water with his usual self pleased grin on his face.

"Ares, you jerkoid!" Aphrodite shouted as she entered. "What did you do? I know you did something!"

Ares laughed and stood up. "Relax, sis," he said.

Aphrodite exploded. It was a display that Ares couldn't remember ever seeing before and it caught him off guard.

"What did you do!" She screamed at him.

Ares' gaze darkened and he fixed her with his black eyes. "Watch it, toots," he growled. "You're going to end up in over your head. Mom and Dad aren't around to bail you out anymore?"

Aphrodite folded her arms across her chest and matched his gaze with an icy one of her own. "Oh yeah?" she replied. "Who says I ever needed them to begin with?"

Ares held his gaze for a moment and then it vanished in a short burst of good natured laughter. "That's good, sis," he nodded to her. "Almost had me believing you, then I realized – Love doesn't know how to fight?"

"What did you do?" Aphrodite demanded.

"As far as The Boy and his Bard?" Ares shrugged. "Nothing. I haven't done anything to him since," he mused and smiled. "For about two thousand years?" He grinned again. "Maybe he's getting old?" His smile faded when he realized two very important things. First, that his sister wasn't buying a single word that he was saying. Secondly, that she wasn't bluffing either. It was anew experience for him regarding their relationship. He had gotten so used to being able to bully her into submission that he had taken it for granted. All of a sudden, that approach wasn't working anymore.

After a few moments consideration, (A part of him was actually curious to see how far she was willing to push this), he shrugged and gestured to the pool.

"Fine," he said. "Let's take a little stroll down memory lane, shall we?" He waved his hand over the pool, and the image of David lying on the bed was replaced by another, far more alien one.

Aphrodite's eyes went wide when she beheld the scene. A wide, smoothly paved stone road sectioned off by dashes at regular intervals and illuminated by countless glowing lamps. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes moved rapidly down it, each ablaze with lights of their own. In the background she beheld the silhouette of a city, also blazing with millions of glowing lights. It was bigger than any city she had ever seen before.

It was as if she were looking at the scene from the point of view of a small animal, lying on the road. The massive vehicles passed over her in rapid succession, and then there was a break in the traffic. In the distance, she could make out two more sets of lights. These were traveling a little differently, weaving across all the lanes as if trying to avoid something.

"What is this?" she asked, looking up at him with a mixture of impatience and angst.

"Oh, this?' Ares shrugged. "Just something that happened right after our two lovebirds met, that's all?"

"This is the world that David came from?" Aphrodite said in awe. "He told me about it, but I never imagined?"

"Obviously, you don't get out much," Ares replied smugly. "Just hop the vortex about two thousand years that way – " He gestured with one hand. "And, bongo! There you are?"

Aphrodite heard a high pitched whine mixing with a loud rumble, then the two vehicles shot past their point of view, one of them a shimmering silver, the other a darker blue mixed with white. After them came two more vehicles, obviously in pursuit. Both were identical, big and black. The point of view followed them after they passed, giving Aphrodite a sudden churning in her belly, like vertigo. She hadn't been expecting that.

A she watched the ensuing chase, she recognized Gabrielle, on the back of the blue and white bike. Her eyes widened.

"That's-" she started.

"Yup," Ares nodded. "And the big helmeted lug in front of her is our friend, David Forester. They clown on the silver one is a friend of his. Darrin or Derek, something like that?""

Aphrodite waved her hand across the water, invoking the sounds. Her eyes were locked on the chain of events.

"_Junction 355, coming up!" Derek announced. "Bear right!" His bike shot across four lanes of traffic towards the ramp. David followed, zipping just in front of a massive eighteen wheel tanker truck. The air horn blasted at them in anger as the rear trailer tires momentarily locked._

Aphrodite gasped in horror at the suicidal maneuver. She might not understand the mechanics of what was happening, but she knew the results of speed and mass in collision. A single error in judgment by either person would most assuredly have killed them. The fact that this was actually a remembered image and not current reality was lost on the Goddess as she watched.

_Derek and David took the ramp at a wild speed. As David leaned his bike over, he felt the pavement rip into the steel of the floor board beneath his feet. Sparks erupted from the contact of metal with pavement moving at eighty miles an hour._

_A quick check behind showed the two black sedans in hot pursuit, and they were gaining!_

"_Those got to be Interceptors," David said angrily. "But I know they aren't cops! Derek, get back here!"_

_Instantly, the Hyabusa was riding formation next to David._

"_What you got in mind?" Derek asked._

In the background, Aphrodite heard another sound, almost like a loud rushing howl of wind, then a third two wheeled vehicle slid easily ext to David and his friend.

The vehicle that pulled up next to the two of them was long, low, and so brightly painted that it seemed to glow like a yellow sunburst in the flashing of the street lights.

_Suddenly another voice, low and monotonous added to the connection._

"_Hey guys," it said. "What's up?"_

"_Johnny?" David smiled. "What the hell is that thing?"_

"_Long story," John's voice came back. Then David saw the helmeted head turn over his shoulder. "Piss someone off?"_

_David smiled. "Another long story."_

_John, or Crazy Johnny as he was better known, sat in a bike that seemed molded to his own body. It was a modified four cylinder Suzuki cruiser with two large air intake scoops blended into the fuel tank, and massive three inch wide exhaust pipes stretched out past the rear tire. The bike had been designed for one thing; straight roads._

"_Well," John's voice came back. "Since we both have long stories to tell, I say we ditch the party crashers so we can talk?"_

"_Johnny," David grinned. "Work your magic. Derek get up next to me!"_

"_Oh, man," Derek said nervously. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"_

_David looked down at his gauge, the red light glowing brightly and flashing._

"_Fraid so," he admitted. "Time for my passenger to get off."_

"_Ah, shit!" Derek moaned, and he sidled his bike up as close as he could to David's without hitting him._

_David flipped open his visor._

"_Gabrielle!" he shouted over the wind. "You're going to finish this little trip with Bullit, there!"_

_Gabrielle looked down at the rear wheel spinning next to her left leg, and her eyes went wide._

"_I'm going to what?" she cried in panic._

"She's gonna do what?" Aphrodite exclaimed in horror, now completely enraptured by the chain of events.

_Johnny's bike fell in behind them and held relative to the others as the two sedans closed on them with bloodthirsty speed._

_Johnny glanced over his shoulder and then flipped two small toggle switches on his tank. Immediately, two amber lights began flashing on either side of his red taillight. He waited until the first Chevy was almost upon him, and then he depressed a small red button on his hand grip as he twisted the throttle._

_A blast of brilliant orange flame, twenty feet long engulfed the front of the encroaching Chevy. The driver swerved away from the threat and dropped back, fire still licking the front grille. It careened wildly off the road and plowed into a ditch._

The Goddess jumped in fright when the flames blasted from the trailing vehicle.

One of the black vehicles careened off the road and plowed into a ditch, coming to an abrupt halt.

"They're called motorcycles," Ares added, smiling. "Actually a fun way to travel. I tried it while I was there."

"What's that little flashing red thingy on David's, uh, motorcycle?" Aphrodite asked nervously.

"That?" Ares smiled. "Trouble."

"_Now!" David shouted as the red light on his gauge flashed insistently._

"_I can't do this!" Gabrielle shouted in fear._

_There was another brilliant orange blast of flame as Johnny held off the second car._

"_Dammit, Gabrielle!" David shouted angrily. "Get off my fucking bike!"_

_David and Derek crossed their hands and grasped each others handlebars. This gave David throttle control over both bikes while at the same time, allowed Derek to maintain the stability of the ride._

_Gabrielle placed her hands down behind David's butt. Another fiery blast behind them startled her._

"_Uh," John's voice came over the speaker, calm as always. "I can't keep this up forever?"_

"_Gabrielle!" David roared. "Go!"_

_Gabrielle eyed the narrow foot pegs behind Derek's calves. He pushed up on her hands and launched herself across the narrow gap, landing neatly on Derek's narrow seat pad, her feet landing solidly on both pegs. The two bikes wobbled violently for a moment, and the two drivers released their holds on each others bikes._

Aphrodite realized suddenly that she was chewing on her finely manicured nails.

"_Johnny!" David called. "Bug out!"_

"_Right," John replied dryly. "See ya!" There was a loud howl, and the yellow monstrosity rocketed past them._

_Gabrielle looked back over at David. He slapped the visor of his helmet down and reached his left hand back onto the hilt of the sword._

_He looked over at her and nodded. She saw the hand on the weapon. Her eyes flicked back to the closing vehicle and she suddenly realized what he was about to do.  
"David!" she cried out._

"_Derek," David said simply. "Ruin their night."_

"_Alright, brother," Derek said gleefully. "Y'all stay black now! I'm outta here like last_ _year!"_

Aphrodite watched in amazement as Derek's left foot and hand wiggled slightly and then cranked the throttle all the way back. The engine screamed in delight, and he and Gabrielle shot away from danger like a thunderbolt.

"_Go, baby, go!" David cheered. "Hang up." The strange vocal connection was broken._

_He looked down at the pavement whizzing past his feet, and then back at the temp gauge. "Any second now."_

"What happened to David?" Aphrodite asked as she watched the silver shape screaming away into the night at unbelievable speed.

Ares smiled, enjoying her angst. "Just watch. You'll see. That sword he has on the side actually comes in handy?"

_There was a soft ping, and then a sudden thud as David's bike finally succumbed to the massive buildup of heat within its engine._

Aphrodite jumped again when she saw the subtle yellow flash between David's legs.

_David managed to shift the bike to the left just before the rear wheel locked. The black Chevy still in pursuit came roaring up behind and to his right like an infuriated juggernaut. Time seemed to slow into one long terrifying series of moments._

A high pitched nervous squeal began to emanate from Aphrodite as she watched the events. Her hands up in front of her mouth, eyes wide.

_David pulled the sword from its sheath and leapt as the front end of the car connected with his rear tire. He flipped over and threw the weapon at the windshield. The blade punched through the driver side of the windshield a split second before his body bounced off the hood and was launched skyward._

_The car slid sideways, sailing off the road and flipping over into the ditch, rolling with a series of sickening crunches._

_David's body seemed to writhe and twist as it flew through the air, moving like a cat. He managed to get his legs beneath him. When he impacted the ground, his boots blasted through the asphalt on the shoulder with a loud whump. His left hand also hit the ground and he paused, looking down at his feet and the large series of spider web cracks beneath them._

_Then he looked up and back toward the wreckage of the car behind him._

The image froze on David's face, his eyes wide with shock, staring out at them from the pool.

Aphrodite looked at it as it faded away, revealing the clear waters again. Her breath burst from her in relief and then she frowned.

"Wait a second?' she said. "How did he?"

"Survive?" Ares asked, smiling. "Because I let him, that's how. I gave him a few little things to help him get through all this, just so Gabrielle could finish what she needed to finish. Once that was done?" He shrugged. Then, before she could ask another question, he waved his hand at her and vanished in a puff of smoke.

She fumed for a moment, her mind racing furiously as she thought about everything she had seen. Her eyes drifted back to the pool and she invoked the last few seconds of that series of events, watching David sail up into the air, writhe and land on his feet with a force that would have smashed normal men. As she looked at him, crouching now, just after the impact. Her mind began putting things together. Her gaze fixed on his hand, punched through the stone. His left hand. The same hand that had dropped the knife. And his back? Well, she didn't need to be a genius to figure that one out!

"Oh boy," She said nervously. Suddenly, her own needs seemed petty compared to what she concluded might transpire. "Oh, this is bad! This is really, really bad!"

She waved her hand over the pool again, this time invoking the entire series of events, from the moment Gabrielle arrived in David's world, and with wide eyes, she began to watch…


	2. A MAtter of Deduction

**A Matter of Deduction**

Gabrielle stepped out of the bedroom when she heard the knock at the door. She stopped dead when she saw who it was.

Ares, leaning casually against the doorframe waved his hand and smiled that interminable smile.

"Hi!" He said casually.

Gabriele's face didn't change. She walked up to him, looked him in the eye for a fraction of a second and then her hand slapped across his cheek with such force that Ares head bobbed to one side and back.

He licked his lip and smiled again. "Did I come at a bad time?"

"Never a Hinds Blood dagger when you need one," Gabrielle muttered. "Get out." She turned and walked away.

"I haven't even come in yet?" Ares replied in that same casual tone. "But I did want to stop by and discuss something with you?"

"We have nothing to discuss,' Gabrielle shot back.

"Au contraire," Ares said, strolling into the house and seating himself in on the couch. "There's a little matter of book keeping that I have to do. I know, it's a pain, but?" He shrugged. "I hate loose ends."

"Book keeping?' Gabrielle snorted. "Fine. If you're here to make up for all the misery you put Xena and I through, then maybe we do have some things to discuss?"

Ares looked at her and then he laughed uproariously.

"Oh, that's good!" He said. His laughter faded when he looked back up past Gabrielle.

Standing in the hall, sweating with an expression of barely contained agony, was David. His eyes blazed as he looked at the intruder.

"Oh, hi David," Ares said, barely containing his mirth. "You feeling alright? You don't look so good?"

"The lady said to leave," David said tightly.

Gabrielle's eyes were filled with wonder at his determination. She knew he must be felt a thousand kinds of pain, just to get to where he stood.

Ares looked at him for a moment longer and then shrugged. "Okay. I've obviously come at a bad time. I'll come back when you're in a better position to talk." He waved his hand and vanished.

David stood there a moment longer. Then the two of them heard a subtle crackling noise and David's face went pale. He collapsed to the floor, dizzy from the latest onslaught of agony.

Gabrielle knew the sounds of bones breaking. She rushed forward and caught him as he sank down, groaning.

"God!" David gasped. She helped him back to the bedroom and he fell onto the bed in total exhaustion.

She gently arranged his limbs.

"Easy! Easy!" David begged. "The legs!"

Even without a closer examination, she could tell that one of them was fractured. In spite of her rising fear, she forced herself to focus and tried to understand why?

"David?" she asked. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," David gasped. "My whole body's on fire and its slowly getting worse!"

"What can I do?" Gabriele asked, her desperation beginning to overwhelm her reason.

David shook his head. "It's like I'm falling apart from the feet up?"

There was a sudden, sickening pop, and Gabrielle saw David's right shoulder appear to dislocate with no provocation. David cried out in sudden pain.

She moved quickly around the bed and gently touched the injury. It was dislocated.

"What's happening to you?" she said again, now truly frightened.

"Set it!" David hissed through clenched teeth. "Reset it!"

"David?" Gabrielle said. "I don't know if that will - ?"

"Just do it!" David begged.

Taking a deep breath, Gabrielle took David's right wrist in her hand, placing her other hand on the shoulder.

"Ready?" she asked.

He nodded. She wrenched hard and pushed the joint back into place. David hissed and his eyes rolled up as he passed out.

At the same moment, she heard another crack. Looking back over him, she saw his left arm, now obviously broken, just behind the wrist.

"What the hell is this?' Gabrielle asked out loud, borrowing one of David's lines without realizing it.

Footsteps rushed through the doorway. Gabrielle's expression went dark and she wheeled on the intruder.

"Dammit!" She cried out in frustration. "I said we have nothing - !"

She stopped short when she saw Aphrodite jump with a start. She nearly dropped the pitcher she held in her hands.

"Sorry, Aphrodite," Gabrielle said.

"Let me guess?' Aphrodite replied, smiling nervously. "My brother was here?"

She came in quickly and looked down at David sweating and unconscious.

"He's getting worse, isn't he?" She asked knowingly.

Gabrielle nodded. "I don't know what's happening?"

"I think I do," Aphrodite replied quickly. She looked about the room. "I need, I need, I need a big bowl, copper if you got one?"

Frowning, Gabrielle nodded. "We've got a big copper boiling pot for when David cooks?" she asked. "But I don't see how that will help?"

"Come on," Aphrodite said urgently. "I need to show you something!"

Gabrielle led her to the kitchen and got the pot out from beneath the counter.

"Okay," Aphrodite said. "Just set it on the floor. She poured the contents of the pitcher into the pot, careful not to spill any of it. Then she set the pitcher down and waited as the water calmed.

"Aphrodite?" Gabrielle said, beginning to lose her patience.

"Just chill," The Goddess replied. Then she waved her hand over the pot and instantly images began to appear on the surface of the water.

"What is this?" Gabrielle asked.

"I sort of borrowed some water from the Sanctum of Reflection, up at the house." Aphrodite confessed. "It's the place where we all used to go and check up on you guys. It saved us a lot of legwork."

"I've never heard of it?" Gabrielle shrugged.

"Well, we didn't talk about it much," Aphrodite replied shortly. "Not even the Titans knew about it. It was how Dad knew the big pigs were coming?" She held her hand over it again and then looked at Gabrielle hard.

"I need you to watch all this and tell me if this is exactly how it happened, kay?"

"How what happened?" Gabrielle asked, looking down at the reflection, then her voice failed completely as she saw herself waking up in the forest that October night, when she had went forward in time. "Aphrodite? This is - ?"

"Just watch," Aphrodite said. "And tell me if it's true."

They both watched in rapt attention as the events scrolled forward.

Gabrielle covered her mouth and gasped in horror when she actually saw David's collision with the car. Once that sequence was complete, it moved on until they were in the clubhouse, discussing his near death experience.

"_Is that how you survived the crash?" Gabrielle asked._

"_Crash?" Shilah asked suddenly. She looked at Debbie. "You never said anything about a crash."_

"_It wasn't anything big," David said, hoping to get out of this subject._

"_Wasn't anything big?" Gabrielle repeated. Then she looked squarely at Shilah._

"_The last I saw of him, he was sailing through the air as Derek whisked me away." She looked at David again. "Almost got himself killed because of me." She finished, her voice softening with a touch of sadness, or perhaps regret._

_David casually let a wry smile pull at his lips._

"_Well," he said, puffing his cigar again. "I can think of worse reasons."_

"_You can fit what's left of his new Valkyrie in a shoe box," Debbie continued. She fixed her eyes on David. "From what Derek and Gabrielle described to me, you should be dead, Shakespeare. Or, at the very least, in the hospital."_

Gabrielle began to fidget nervously. "Skip ahead to the part where he handed me the Amulet of Tachos!"

Aphrodite nodded and waved her hand over the pot again. The image zipped ahead.

"_Which reminds me," David said suddenly as he fished inside his jacket. "I think this might be handy."_

_He fished the amulet out of his pocket and held it up. Gabrielle and the others all gasped in astonishment._

"_David," Shilah asked as she reached out and took the amulet from him. "Where did you get this?"_

_All eyes turned to him and he suddenly felt the desire to jump on Rosie and ride off into the darkness for a few hours. He shrugged nervously._

"_Ares suggested I take it," he finally said uncomfortably._

"_Ares!" Gabrielle stood up and looked down at him. "What do you have to do with him?"_

"_Whoa!" David blurted, his hands rising in surrender. "Nothing! I got nothing to do with him! He just sort of started popping up right after you arrived." He looked at Gabrielle. "In fact, it was right after you became fluent in English."_

_Tommy, seated across from them smiled and chuckled under his breath._

_Gabrielle looked at him in surprise. "What?"_

"_I'm sorry," Tommy said, still grinning. "But when you're as into this as we are, you tend to notice otherworldly intervention when it hits you broadside like that. I just figured that the others didn't notice anything, so I kept my mouth shut."_

"_We've all known he's been following you around since you got here." Shilah said. "Even though I haven't been involved directly, I could feel the energy of his movements where my students are concerned." Then she looked sternly at David. "Even though I didn't expect one of them to confront him directly, I can't really say I'm surprised."_

"_For the record," David said, now feeling a bit defensive. "He confronted me. I didn't go looking for him."_

"_That's not the point," Shilah chided. "He got to you. Somehow he found a way."_

"_What did he give you?" Debbie asked._

"_My ass," David said, now really defensive. He got up and took the bottle, walking toward the bar. "If we hadn't come to an understanding, they would have brought my carcass home in a body bag tonight!"_

Gabrielle heaved a deep breath. "Show me the crash again."

The image jumped back to the impact. "Stop it there!" Gabrielle said quickly. The image froze as David's body impacted the hood of Alti's car. Swallowing down her emotions, she forced herself to look at the images with cold detachment.

"Okay," She said. "Can you back this up slowly?" she asked.

"Tell you what," Aphrodite said, not understanding why she was bouncing through the images like that. She placed her hand on Gabrielle's shoulder and there was a quick tingling sensation in Gabrielle's arm. "Just think about it and it will happen, kay?"

"Thanks." Gabrielle stepped over the image and slowly waved her hand. The image cycled backwards slowly to the point where the car first struck David's motorcycle. She saw the jarring impact, then she followed it slowly back to the point where he hit the hood.

"That's the back," She nodded grimly, "And maybe the legs too?"

"What?" Aphrodite asked, looking at the image as if she should be able to see what her friend could.

Gabrielle found it difficult to keep her icy detachment. "Look at the way he's set, just before he gets hit. Then the car hits the back of the bike. That would have jarred his back, and probably his legs too. He jumped a split second too late." She moved the image forward again. "And here, where his shoulder hits the hood?"

"Hood?" Aphrodite asked.

"That part there," Gabrielle said shortly. "His bike had blown an engine, and the oil was all over the road. Both of the vehicles had gone through it here, which means they were already sliding. David was trying to control an uncontrollable situation?"

"Oil?" Aphrodite asked, shaking her head. "Gabby, how do you know all this stuff?"

Gabrielle smiled grimly. "I had two weeks to learn, and David tried to explain a lot."

Gabrielle pointed down at the spot again. "David's shoulder dislocated a few minutes before you got here."

"It did?' Aphrodite gasped. "Ouch!"

They looked at one another and then back down at the pot again.

"Wait a second," Aphrodite said. "If that's the case, then the injuries he should have gotten when this happened?"

"Are happening right now," Gabrielle finished for her. That realization sank into the pits of their stomachs like cold lead.

"Oh no," Aphrodite gasped. "Gabby! That means?" She waved her hand over the image and it continued forward until he landed on the shoulder. It froze as his feet impacted the ground.

"Wait!" Gabrielle said quickly. She slowly moved the age back and nodded in understanding. David's left hand hit the pavement a fraction of a second before his feet.

A single line repeated in her horrified mind:

"_If we hadn't come to an understanding, they would have brought my carcass home in a body bag tonight!"_

Aphrodite, amazingly came to the same conclusion as Gabrielle.

"We need a healer!" The Goddess exclaimed. "We need the mother of all healers!"

Gabrielle's mind was reeling. Who could get there before the injuries spread to his legs and then to his internal organs, all of which would be jarred out of position with agonizing deliberation. Tears began to fill her eyes as she realized that there was no one that could save her husband.

"Oh Gods," She burst out in horror. "Aphrodite! David's about to die!"

Aphrodite looked like she would also burst into tears. She grabbed hold of the despairing young woman and held her tightly, her eyes looking down at the image of the man on the water. Somewhere inside her hear, something snapped into place. It was a fierce, motherly protectiveness that she couldn't remember ever feeling before about any of her followers.

"No he's not," She hissed with uncharacteristic ice in her voice. "No, he's not. Because we're not going to let him!"

Gabrielle looked up, her face a mixture of despair and surprise.

"We're not going to let him," Aphrodite said again in a hard voice. "I know that Ares is doing this on purpose! And I know he never does anything without a reason! He may be a total lamo, but he isn't stupid! He's waiting for you to get so desperate that you'll do anything he asks, just to save David!"

Gabrielle tried to calm her sobs. "So what do we do?"

"There isn't a healer around that will be able to fix him, here," Aphrodite said, and her smile began playing on her lips. "But what about then?"

"Then?" Gabrielle repeated.

Aphrodite nodded enthusiastically. "Then!" When Gabrielle frowned, she gave an exasperated sigh. "Then, then!" She said, looking down at the image.

"In the future?" Gabrielle gasped. "But?"

"Gabby," Aphrodite said quickly. "I know you have it hidden here. I know it because I saw you take it. Then I saw David grab it from your tomb here, in about two thousand years. So I know it's here!"

"The Chronos Stone!" Gabrielle breathed.

"Exactly!" Aphrodite smiled. "You think the healers from his time could save him?"

Hope rekindled in Gabrielle's heart.

"Go get it, but don't take it out of whatever you have it in!" Aphrodite explained. "I need to be the first one to touch it, or this might go all nutso on us, kay?"

Gabrielle nodded and ran out towards the barn. She returned a few moments later, carrying a small locked box.

"Good!" Aphrodite said, taking the box from her. "Now, find the stuff that he had with him when he came back. Everything he had!"

"It's all in the bedroom," Gabrielle replied. The two of them went to David's side.

"Okay, get it all out for me," Aphrodite instructed. Even as she spoke, they heard the subtle cracking starting in David's left leg. He moaned quietly in his stupor.

Gabrielle went through the dresser, pulling out the things she needed and throwing the other things out of the way. She found everything, including his old cell phone. She flipped it open and saw the light come on. Even after nearly a year, there was still a little power left in the battery.

"Now you," Aphrodite said quickly.

Gabrielle went to the opposite side and began fishing for her modern clothing. When she turned back around, David lay there, dressed in his boots, jeans, tee shirt, leather vest and jacket.

"Okay," Aphrodite said quickly. "Is that it?"

Gabrielle nodded, and instantly her wardrobe also changed. She looked down at herself in surprise. When she looked up at Aphrodite, she was also dressed in a close approximation of modern garments. Boots, jeans, a light colored pink blouse and a black leather jacket.

"Ooo," she said smiling as her vain side momentarily got the better of her. "I like the feel of this."

"Dite!" Gabrielle snapped.

"Okay! Okay!" The Goddess replied. She opened the box and drew out the conical green stone. Instantly it glowed to life. "Hello my little Chaos Stone," Aphrodite cooed. She looked at David and Gabrielle, and then she seemed to momentarily lose her focus. Then she blinked and smiled. "Ready?"

"What are you going to do?" Gabrielle asked.

"I had to set the stage," Aphrodite said. "Don't worry. Everything will be just the way we need it to be. Trust me!"  
Aphrodite moved to stand next to David and placed his hand over hers. At the same time, she motioned for Gabrielle to do the same.

"Okay, kids," she said, taking a deep breath. "Hang on. Here we go!"

In a swirl of green energy, the three of them vanished from inside the house.

The world swirled around her, and Gabrielle felt that familiar sensation of falling sideways once again. Her stomach churned suddenly and then brilliant sunlight dazzled her and her ears were filled with a cacophony of noises.

Blinking in the sunlight, she looked about and saw David, lying nearby. He was lying on modern pavement, pieces of a motorcycle strewn all about the road. Cars coasted by slowly, filled with curious faces.

A siren cut through all the other sounds, and Gabrielle turned to see a large red and white ambulance speeding down the shoulder toward them.

"Oh God," Gabrielle burst into panicked tears. She got to her feet and would have run to David, but another pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and held her.

Gabrielle turned her eyes and found Aphrodite looking down at her, smiling sympathetically. "It's okay, Gabby," she said quickly. "This is what we needed!"

A brown uniformed police officer came over to them, his wide brimmed hat shading his eyes from the sunlight. Gabrielle recognized him as the same one that had brought David home after the first accident.

Aphrodite looked at him and blinked deliberately.

"Gabrielle?" the officer said sympathetically. "I got the radio call and got here as quick as I could! You alright?"

Gabrielle had to think for a moment. "Stewart?" she finally said. The man wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulder. "What happened?"

"Wh – I – " Gabrielle stammered, still in shock at the reality of it all. Two men in blue and white uniforms were working feverishly on David.

"Take your time," Stewart said calmly.

"Scuse me?" Aphrodite put in. Stewart looked up at her.

"I'm –" she paused suddenly, gulping. "Dite. A friend of the family?"

Stewart nodded and waived off another police officer that was coming forward to take a statement from them.

"Did you see what happened?" Stewart asked.

"Something went wrong with the bike," Aphrodite lied smoothly. "One minute he was in my rear view mirror, and then next – " Her voice caught.

"Okay," Stewart said. "I'll get with you guys later. Just sit tight. You want me to call someone?"

"Call someone!" Gabrielle thought suddenly. She shook her head. "No, I got it." She pulled out the cell phone and opened it. Thankfully it lit up. She held it to her ear and said nervously.

"Call Papa Bear," she said nervously.

"Call what?" Aphrodite asked, confused.

The line clicked several times and then her heart sank as a mechanical voice said coldly.

"The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected."

She sighed in desperation before the voice continued. "Calls are being accepted by – "

Gabrielle listened with her very soul. She hung up and quickly pressed the new sequence in. The phone began to ring.

A familiar southern style voice came through the other end.

"Hello?"

"Tommy?" Gabrielle practically shouted.

"Yeah?" Tommy replied. "Who is this?"

"It's Gabrielle," Gabrielle replied.

"Gabrielle?" the voice sounded confused. Then suddenly the voice changed to excited certainty. "Gabrielle! Holy shit, girl! What are you doing calling me?"

"I can't talk long!" Gabrielle replied. "We're back! David's hurt and we had to come back, or forward, oh, whatever!"

"Easy girl," Tommy's voice slowed to that wonderful calm, helping her regain her focus. "Okay, just tell me where you're at?"

"I? It's?" Gabrielle stammered as she looked about. Off to one side, she saw a massive white edifice surrounded by smoothed stone, and a set of train tracks. A sign hung at the corner of the nearby intersection.

"It's um, Northwest Highway and, Um, Frontage?" She sounded out the words. Then she nodded. "Northwest Highway and Frontage!"

"Sit tight," Tommy replied. "I'm five minutes away! It's good to hear –" the voice dropped off and the line disconnected. Gabrielle looked down at the phone, the words LOW BATTERY, flashed several times and then the phone went dead.

It was much less than five minutes when the big blue diesel pickup truck that Gabrielle knew as Caroline came bouncing over the train tracks and skidded around the corner. It shot across all four lanes and screeched to a halt in the parking lot of the gas station on the opposite side of the street.

The man who got out of the truck was not the man Gabrielle remembered, or rather, it was, but not as much of him. Tommy had been a four hundred pound walking wall of a man, and though his size was still quite large, it was obvious that he had lost about a hundred of those pounds.

He ran across the street.

Gabrielle wrapped her arms about his neck and broke down completely.

"Hey, Gabs," Tommy said gently, rocking her back and forth. HE let her anguish expel itself before looking back down at her. "Been a while?"

Gabrielle nodded.

Tommy looked up and saw the EMT's tending to David. Then he spied Stewart.

"Sit tight a second," he said. "I'll be right back."

As he walked away, Gabrielle saw, for the first time, the image of the ravening bear on the back of his jacket, and the words "Zombie Squad" Emblazoned in a brilliant blue.

Tommy and Stewart had a short conversation as the EMT's got David on the gurney and wheeled him back to the ambulance.

Tommy watched the big red and white machine head off, lights blazing and siren wailing.

When Tommy came back, his face was grim.

"Well?" Gabrielle asked. Aphrodite stepped up behind her expectantly.

"Well," Tommy sighed. "He's stable. Both his legs and his left arm are broke. They'll know more when they get him to the hospital." He noticed Gabrielle's companion for the first time. "Sorry?" he said. "I don't know you?" His manner was cordial, but his eyes said much more. "Do I?"

Aphrodite smiled disarmingly, but Tommy was unconvinced. Then he shook his head. "Never mind. Not the time, or the place. Come on, we'll get over to the hospital. He led them across the street to the truck. A short while later, the three of them were speeding towards the hospital.

They sat for several hours in the waiting room before the doctor came out to see them.

"What's the word, doc?" Tommy asked anxiously.

"He's stable," The doctor said with a slight accent that none of them could place. "But critical. The next twenty four hours will tell us more. Is there a family member we should contact?"

Gabrielle swallowed. "I'm his wife," She said.

"Ah," The doctor smiled cordially and extended his hand. "Doctor James Bastogne, nice to meet you. I'm sorry that it's under these conditions."

"How bad is he, Doctor?" Gabrielle asked, bracing herself. "You said the next twenty-four hours would tell?"

The doctor ran his fingers through his dark hair and sighed. He was a tall man, rail thin, of moderate years as doctors went, with a face that could only be described as stern. His grey eyes were the only thing soft about his demeanor.

"He took a pretty bad fall, Mrs. Forester," he admitted. "He has multiple breaks in both of his legs and his left arm, as well as some spinal trauma, though I don't think there's a danger of paralysis at this time. His spine is intact, although it is inflamed. IF I didn't know better, I'd say that he landed on is feet first.

"He did," Aphrodite said suddenly. All eyes turned on her and she gulped. "He landed feet first and just – bounced?"

Gabrielle bit her lip.

The Doctor saw this and smiled, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's actually a good thing that he did. The damage would have been much more severe if he hadn't, I assure you." He looked at Aphrodite gratefully. "Thank you, my dear. That tells us a little bit about what to look at for the next twenty-four hours." He looked at them, and at Gabrielle mostly. "I know you probably won't be able to, but you should go home and try to rest. Is there a number where I can reach you if anything changes?"

Gabrielle was trembling as the stress of the entire event was beginning to crack through her wall of detachment.

"Yeah, doc," Tommy said quickly. He fished out a small card and handed it to him. "Just call that number. I think the missus and her friend will be staying with me tonight?"

"Very good,' Doctor Bastogne replied, accepting the card. "We'll keep you apprised of his condition and call you the moment he wakes."

Tommy shook the doctor's hand and then escorted Gabrielle and Aphrodite from the hospital. They made into the truck before Gabrielle broke down completely. Aphrodite sat next to her, her arm wrapped around her as Tommy navigated the big truck through the streets and into familiar territory. The six wheels crunched over the gravel drive leading up to the clubhouse. Tommy parked the truck around back and led the two of them up into the main room. The place was deserted, thankfully.

Aphrodite set her leather bag on the bar and led Gabrielle to the large leather sofa off to one side while Tommy went behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of beer for himself.

He poured a glass of red wine for Gabrielle and then called out. "You want a drink?"

Aphrodite looked up at him and smiled. "Sure."

"Beer, wine, or something stronger?" Tommy shot back.

Aphrodite looked at Gabrielle, and then sighed. "Stronger. Definitely stronger."

Tommy nodded and filled a short glass with ice, and then he poured it full of Jack Daniels.

Tommy served the drinks and then seated himself across from them, his eyes never leaving Aphrodite. Gabrielle smiled slightly when she saw that. It was the same stare that she had received that first night. A night that now seemed a lifetime away.

"So?' Tommy said, never taking his keen brown eyes off the Goddess. "What brings you back to town?"

Aphrodite also noted the intense look, and she did not find it flattering.

"Her husband got hurt!" She shot at him. "Duh!"

"How'd he get hurt?" Tommy asked evenly.

Aphrodite stood up. "It wasn't my fault, if that's what you're asking?"

"I didn't say that?" Tommy replied. His voice was still calm as still water.

"Tommy," Gabrielle said. "It's okay. She's a friend."

At those words, Tommy smiled faintly. "Okay, Gabs. If you say so." He rose and strolled back to the bar. "I think I need something stronger."

"Who does he think he is?" Aphrodite asked angrily. "Doesn't he know who I am?"

"Nope." Tommy answered from the other side of the room. "I may not know who you are." He looked at them and smiled slightly. "But I know what you are."

"You?" Aphrodite stammered.

Tommy's smile widened slightly and he stepped to the phone, dialing quickly.

"Hi there," he said. "You may want to come out to the clubhouse. Yeah, right now. Two words: They're back. Later." He hung up.

"So," he resumed as he came over with another short glass of ice and the bottle of Jack. "You were about to say?"

He filled the glass and took a drink.

Across from him, Aphrodite scowled angrily.

Gabrielle gestured between them.

"Tommy, Aphrodite," she introduced them mutely. "Aphrodite, Tommy, or Papa Bear as everyone else calls him." She smiled at him.

The response from the big man was not what the Goddess of Love expected. His eyes widened in surprise, but not disbelief. Then his smile widened until he laughed suddenly. "Aphrodite?" he said, slapping his knee. "Greek Pantheon? Goddess of Love, Aphrodite?"

"Yeah," The Goddess scowled at him. "What about it?"

"Well, shit on a shingle," Tommy said. "Now I have seen it all!"

He quickly composed himself and extended his hand. "Welcome to the twenty-first century."

"Where I come from," Aphrodite took the hand and shook, more out of etiquette than actual pleasure. "Anyone dissing me like that wouldn't get a date for years."

"Well," Tommy smiled. "We're a little more relaxed on this side of the pond. Still, if Gabs vouches for you, I guess you're okay."

"What?" Aphrodite cried out. "If a mortal vouches for me? Are you saying my rep ain't good enough?"

Tommy refilled his glass. "Well, what have you done for me lately?" he asked, laughing.

"What have I?" Aphrodite was completely flabbergasted. No mortal had ever deliberately spoken to her like this. She didn't know what to do.

Suddenly, Gabrielle burst out laughing and set the wine glass down. She stood up and wrapped her arms about the big mans neck.

"I've really missed you!" she sighed.

Tommy held her and glanced over at Aphrodite, giving her a quick wink. It had all been a ruse. Something to break the tension and lighten the mood.

Still somewhat insulted, Aphrodite finally realized what Tommy had been playing at, though his lack of fear and respect at meeting a genuine deity had not been part of the ruse. He was treating her just like anyone else.

"Missed you too, Mouse," he smiled.

"Mouse?" Aphrodite's expression changed at once to a smile. "They call you Mouse?"

Gabrielle sat back down, still smiling though the tears.

"House Mouse," Tommy informed her. "When she showed up the first time, she went into the spare bedroom and passed out for two days! She was short, cute and quiet as a mouse."

"Ha!" Aphrodite laughed out loud. "That's a new one!"

Gabrielle finished her wine, and Tommy dutifully took the glass back to the bar. He grabbed the bottle and began refilling it.

"Oh, no, thanks Tommy," Gabrielle said quickly. "I don't want to have too much. The baby – " she stopped when Tommy looked up in genuine shock this time.

"Baby?" he asked. "You gonna have a baby?"

"Tommy?" Gabrielle said, pointing at him. "Uh, the bottle?"

Tommy looked down to see the wine spilling across the bar, his task momentarily forgotten. He set the bottle down and came back around. His grin was spreading faster than the spill on the bar behind him.

"You and David? You gonna have a baby?" He asked.

In one quick move, he scooped her up and spun her around, laughing long and loud.

Aphrodite stood up quickly. "Hey, you big lug! Take it easy!"

"Oh, right," Tommy said quickly, setting her back on her feet. "Sorry! Uh, wow!" He punched the air and let out a sharp cry of excitement. Then he looked at them, his eyes wide.

"Oh, man," he said quickly. "This is big! This is the biggest thing in over a year!"

The door opened and in walked the familiar, portly shape of Shilah. Tommy turned and grinned.

"Great! You're here!" he exclaimed. "You can keep them company for a second! I gotta run out and pick up something real fast!" He practically ran past her. Then he stopped, turned back and grabbed the keys before turning again and kissing Shilah on the cheek excitedly. "Hey! I'm gonna be an uncle!" he chuckled, and he was gone.

Shilah stood there, momentarily shocked. Then she rubbed her cheek thoughtfully and looked over at Gabrielle. She smiled.

"He needs to shave," she said neutrally. "Hello, Gabrielle." Her head inclined respectfully towards Aphrodite. "Hello, Mistress." She went to the bar and began cleaning up the forgotten spill. She looked at them softly, with those knowing eyes. "So, tell me everything?"


	3. Simple Math

**Simple Math**

Shilah listened patiently, as always, her eyes only occasionally straying to Aphrodite, and then with polite reverence. She nodded at the appropriate times and smiled gently where necessary. Tommy returned a short while later bearing several small paperboard boxes. He set them on the bar, opened one and removed several cigars. He set one down in front of each of the women and sat back, lighting his and still grinning.

Aphrodite watched him with curiosity as he smoked. Then she sniffed the cigar curiously and grimaced, quickly setting the offensive object back on the table. "Uhg, grody."

Once Gabrielle finished bringing the High Priestess up to speed on current events, Shilah looked over at Aphrodite and nodded.

"While it is not unheard of for a deity to take special interest in some of us," she said calmly. "It is extremely rare that one would actually, physically, intervene, no matter what the circumstances?"

She looked at Gabrielle. "Your past experience not withstanding, of course?"

Gabrielle nodded.

"Yet," Shilah continued. "Since David went back to find her, this brother of yours has been quiet, until now. Why?"

"If we knew that, half of the problem would be solved already," Aphrodite retorted. She was clearly having issues with being treated like a regular mortal. "The only reason I brought them here is because I know Ares messed with him, and I'm trying to fix it!"

"Again, I have to ask,' Shilah pressed gently. "Why?"

Aphrodite huffed indignantly. "Because Gabby here is my friend, kay? Is there a problem with that? Just because I'm a Goddess doesn't mean I don't have mortals that I think of as friends!"

"Granted," Shilah replied. "But, given our past experience, I have also come to the conclusion that the Gods of Gabrielle's era always seemed to have ulterior motives when they offered to help?"

"I don't have to sit here and listen to this!" Aphrodite burst out.

"Yes you do!" Tommy shot back before she could vanish. The words snapped her out of her tantrum in an instant. His voice calmed back down instantly to that polite southern drawl "If you're Gabby and Shakespeare's friend, then you'll understand why we're a bit touchy about dealing with you! If you aren't you'll just pop off again?" He looked at her expectantly. "Your move?"

Aphrodite stared at him and frowned. Then she sat back down and crossed her arms, looking away from them.

"This is so bogus!"

Gabrielle smiled, both thankful for the distraction keeping her from worrying about David, and the company.

"It's a completely different world now, Aphrodite?" she offered. She was about to say more when the phone rang. Instantly, all of them were on their feet as Tommy hopped over the couch and snatched up the phone.

"Yeah?" He said. "Yes, this is. Yes she's right here. Okay, we're on the way!" He hung up the phone.

"He's awake." Was all he said, and they were heading for the door.

When they reached the hospital, Tommy followed Gabrielle to the information desk.

"David Forester?" Tommy asked quickly.

"Yes, um, room one-twenty," The nurse answered politely.

Before she could continue, the four of them were heading towards the indicated room.

"Wait! Sir? Sir!" the nurse called out helplessly. Quickly, she picked up the phone and dialed an extension.

Another nurse was hanging up the phone when the four of them came around the desk, heading towards the room.

"Excuse me!" she said sharply.

All of them came to a halt.

"I'm here to see my husband," Gabrielle said with equal severity.

"I'm afraid that isn't possible at the moment," The nurse replied. "He's in surgery."

"He's what?" Tommy burst out. "I just talked to the doc not thirty minutes ago?"

He seemed ready to vault the desk and go after the nurse. It was a feeling that Gabrielle and Aphrodite could readily identify with.

"Thomas?" Shilah said quietly. She looked at the nurse. "As you can see, we're all a bit worked up. What's happened?"

"They rushed him into emergency surgery about twenty minutes ago. The doctor asked that you wait here. He will be out with you as soon as possible. I'll make certain he knows that you're all here."

They all filed towards the waiting lounge. Aphrodite hung back a few steps and looked about the place. She shivered suddenly.

"This place is totally, ugh," She commented. "Still, clean white walls and a floor that you could eat off of? This is right up Asclipius's alley? Right down to the Acolytes?"

"They're called nurses,' Shilah said with a quiet smile.

"Yeah, right," The Goddess nodded.

The first minutes passed like hours, the first hour felt like a day. Gabrielle, completely worn down by the stress and strain, finally broke down and wept. Aphrodite sat down next to her and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder.

Tommy alternated between sitting and fidgeting nervously and pacing about like a trapped animal. His face was set in an expression of constant concern, while Shilah merely sat, her eyes closed, as if in meditation.

Finally, Gabrielle fell into a fitful sleep, and Aphrodite lowered her gently onto the couch as she got up.

Tommy was in the midst of another pacing fit as he flexed his fingers nervously.

"Hey, big fella?" Aphrodite asked gently. "You okay?"

Tommy nodded his head quickly, though his eyes didn't look in her direction. "I just don't like being stuck here, doing nothing," he mumbled.

"You're not doing nothing," Aphrodite offered, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He looked down at her and smiled. "Thanks."

Then he resumed pacing, in spite of it.

Aphrodite watched him for a few more minutes and then she sighed. "Okay, you're making me dizzy. Come here and sit down."

"Cope," Tommy replied.

Aphrodite seated herself in front of a garish little table. "Sit!" she said more sternly.

Reluctantly, Tommy sat down and looked at her.

"Maybe you can help me with something?" Aphrodite asked. "I'm still trying to figure out why all this happened?"

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked.

"Well," Aphrodite said as she ticked off items on her fingers. "We know David got hurt last year, when he got creamed by that other car. And we know that my lunkhead brother kept him from getting hurt. But we don't know why? Why wait a year – more than a year before doing this? Why not just let him go squish when it happened?"

Tommy winced at that reference.

"Sorry," Aphrodite shrugged in apology. "But it's a good question, isn't it?"

Tommy nodded. "Tell me again about what you saw on the playback?"

"Playback?" Aphrodite asked, frowning.

"The pool thing?" Tommy replied. "Tell me all of it."

It took a bit of coaxing, but Tommy managed to get all the information out of the occasionally absent minded Goddess.

"Wait a second," Tommy said suddenly. "Ares did what?"

Before Aphrodite could reply, Doctor Bastogne came walking into the waiting area, still wearing his blue surgical smock and hat.

Shilah reached over and gently touched Gabrielle's shoulder, startling her awake.

"Mrs. Forester?" The doctor greeted her.

"What happened?" Gabrielle asked. "The – he went in for surgery?"

"He's fine," the doctor replied calmly. "He'll be back in his room in a little bit. There was a complication and we had to go in and operate immediately, but he's fine now."

"What happened?" Tommy blurted.

"Acute appendicitis," Doctor Bastogne replied. "Happens to some people over a period of weeks or months, but in a very few cases, the flare up is extremely fast, and the organ sometimes ruptures within hours of the first attack. In those cases, the results can often be fatal." He looked at Gabrielle calmly. "Your husband had one such attack. If he had not already been in our care, it is doubtful that we would have gotten to it in time to save him. In a strange sort of way, his accident today actually saved his life?"

Tommy actually laughed quietly. "Well, don't that just take the biscuit?"

Gabrielle and Aphrodite looked mildly confused while Shilah merely smiled and shook her head.

"When can we see him?" she asked.

"They'll bring him back in about an hour, after some observation. After that, a couple of days here, and then barring any further complications, we should be able to get him out of ICU and into a regular room."

"Thank you, doctor," Shilah nodded.

The doctor excused himself and the four of them breathed a unanimous sigh of relief.

About an hour later, the nurse came into the lounge.

"He's in his room. You can see him now, but he's still a bit groggy." She announced. "We gave him some medication for the pain, so don't expect him to be too lucid for the time being."

One by one they filed into the small room. There on the bed, both of his legs and his left arm in splints, looking pale and drawn, lay David.

Gabrielle stepped over to his side and sat down on a chair, her hand stroking his hair.

"David?" she asked quietly. "David? I'm here?"

David's eyes opened a little and his head turned to face her.

"Hi," he smiled drunkenly. "What's up?" He frowned slightly, trying to see through the drug induced haze. "This doesn't look like our bedroom? Where we at?"

Tommy stepped up behind her and smiled.

"Welcome back Shakes," he said quietly. "You gave us all a pretty good scare for a minute there?"

"Hey, Big T," David smiled. "You're all wavy and wacky looking right now? What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story," Gabrielle said quickly. "I promise to tell you all about it later, okay?" She kissed him on the cheek. "Right now, you need to relax."

"I feel fine," David said thickly, his speech slurring. "I feel better than fine? Wow, this is some good stuff?"

His head turned and he saw Shilah and Aphrodite looking down at him.

"Wow, the gang's all here," he continued, rambling. He looked at Aphrodite and his smile widened slightly, even as his eyes fluttered closed for a second. "Wow. You look good, Dite? You do this?"

Aphrodite smiled and leaned down close to him. "You betcha, studly. I need you to stick around and keep my girl happy, like we talked about? Remember?"

"You have really pretty eyes, you know that?" David said, still smiling.

Aphrodite smiled. "Oh, yeah. You need to sleep. You're delirious."

"Go back to sleep, honey," Gabrielle agreed.

"That's a good idea," he said, looking back at Gabrielle. "I'm a little beat right now. I think I'll just take a little nap.." His eyes fluttered closed and then suddenly opened wide, filled with a sudden fear.

"You guys'll be here when I wake up, right?" he asked clearly.

Gabrielle kissed him again. "We aren't going anywhere."

"That's good," David smiled. "That's real good. I thought it might all be a dream. If it was, then I didn't…" His voice drifted into soft mumbles and he fell unconscious.

"Why don't you two stay with him," Tommy said to Gabrielle and Shilah. I gotta make a few calls." He looked at Aphrodite. "Come on?"

Aphrodite looked at Gabrielle, who merely shrugged, and then she nodded her head.

"Sure."

Once they were in the hallway, she looked at Tommy with a touch of scorn. "Okay, why don't you want me in there? Afraid I might do something to him?"

"No," Tommy replied easily. "I want to finish our little conversation, but I don't think Gabs and Shilah need to worry about it right now. That alright with you?"

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and headed down the hall. Again, Aphrodite fumed at his lack of reverence, but at the same time, she suddenly realized something that surprised her. As much as she was accustomed to being worshiped for what she was, this whole bit of being treated just like anyone else actually felt refreshing? If he just wasn't so blatant about it, she might even be able to adjust to it?

Still fuming, she followed after the big man.

"So, anyway," Tommy said once she caught up to him. "You and your brother were watching the whole thing on the tube, and what happened next?"

Aphrodite shrugged. "He started laughing and took off, laughing all the way?"

"Did he say anything?" Tommy asked.

The Goddess frowned, trying to remember. "He was laughing like a harpy and said something about a loophole?" She sighed. "I don't know! It's not like I pay much attention to anything he ever says anyway? He's always ranting about like that?"

Caught up in his thoughts as he was, Tommy momentarily forgot who he was talking to. He grabbed Aphrodite by the shoulders and spun her around to face him.

"You need to remember, lady!" He said, and then he let her go and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but this could be important. What did he mean by loophole?"

Aphrodite was momentarily taken aback, both by his actions and the sudden indescribable thrill that it sent through her. "You're pretty forceful when you get excited?" she mused.. "It's kinda sexy!"

"Aphrodite!" Tommy growled. "The pool?"

The Goddess made a little moan and then frowned in concentration. "He said something like, I knew there was a loophole, or, that was the loophole, no!" She looked at him with wide eyes and grinned triumphantly. "He said that he knew she'd find a loophole! Yeah, that was it! He knew she'd find a loophole!"

"She, who?" Tommy asked.

"You want to know what he was thinking now?" Aphrodite asked. "Hey, buster. I'm good, but I'm not that good."

Tommy growled like a bear and stalked away. As Aphrodite watched him go, the light came on.

"Wait a second!" she called after him. She caught up with him and was practically skipping next to him in excitement.

"There were only two ladies that really got his blood boiling!" She said quickly. "One of them is Eve, but she came to her senses and ditched him! The other one was Xena! Now, she ditched Ares too, but he never stopped trying to get her back! It was like this majorly unhealthy obsession for him?" Then she paused. "No, wait. She's in the hands of those Eastern Gods. It couldn't be her," She looked up at him in surprise. "I don't know? Could it?"

"You tell me?" Tommy replied.

"I don't know?" Aphrodite confessed. Then her grin sprouted again. "But I know someone who might?"

"Is he a friend of Ares?" Tommy asked. "Because we can't risk him finding out?"

"Oh, Ares never bothers with this guy," Aphrodite replied. "In fact, only one of us actually kept him on the payroll!"

Tommy smiled. "Well, let's go talk to him." He said, fishing in his pocket for the keys.

"What are you doing?" Aphrodite asked. "You thinking of driving there? I don't think so!" She looked around quickly. "I can;t do this too much, or Ares might catch on to where we are?"

No one seemed to be watching. Then she grabbed Tommy's arm and the two of them vanished in a shower of gentle sparks.

The next time David opened his eyes, they were crystal clear. He started slightly and looked about.

"What the hell?" he said thickly, fighting off the last of his grogginess. He saw the splints on his legs and arm and felt the dull throbbing of the limbs. He knew that feeling from when he broke his ankle as a child. Both legs and his arm felt the same way. "What am I doing here?" he asked aloud. Something stirred next to him and he looked over to see a mop of blonde hair lying on the mattress next to him.

"Hey." he said in a dry voice. He reached up with his one free hand and gently touched the sleeping figure.

Gabrielle's head snapped up in fright and then she calmed down when she saw him looking at her.

"Hi," David said in relief.

"Hi yourself," Gabrielle replied. "How are you feeling?"

David winced and fumbled for a nearby cup of water. "Thirsty."

Gabrielle grabbed the cup and held the straw to his lips. He drank a little and let his head sink back against the pillow.

"How did I end up here?" he asked.

"Long story," Gabrielle replied. "How are you feeling?"

David sighed. "Like seven levels of hell in a six story building." He saw the tear stains on her cheeks and smiled. "How are you doing? Is the baby okay?"

"We're both doing much better, now," Gabrielle smiled.

"Why? How did we end up back here?" David asked again.

Gabrielle smiled. "It was the only way to save you. Aphrodite helped me get you back to your time where the healers could fix you up."

"Where is she now?" David asked.

"Off with Tommy somewhere?' Gabrielle replied.

"You left Aphrodite and Tommy alone?" David smiled. "Man, I don't know who would get the raw end of that deal?" He chuckled, and frowned when he felt the mild pain. When he lifted the blanket, he saw the gauze bandage taped over his torso, just to the right of his navel. "What the?"

"The Doctor said something about appendicitis?" Gabrielle offered. "They had to rush you into surgery?"

David groaned and relaxed. Then he smiled. "Well, at least they didn't cut off something else? I swear, every time I wind up in the hospital, a part of me never leaves?"

Before David could ask anything else, Doctor Bastogne strode into the room.

"Good afternoon, Mister Forester?" he said pleasantly. "How are you feeling?"

David sighed. "Not as bad as I look, apparently?"

"Actually, compared to what might have happened in that accident, I'm amazed you look as good as you do?" The Doctor replied easily. He stepped to the end of the bed and looked down at David's feet.

"Can you wiggle your toes for me?" he asked.

David winced but managed the task.

"Excellent," The Doctor smiled. "How about your fingers?"

Again, David complied and the doctor nodded.

"And how is the pain?"

David thought for a moment. "Not as bad as I expected, really?"

The doctor nodded again. "That may change over the next few days." He reached over and handed David a small handle with a button. "I've got you on a voluntary morphine drip, just in case. The dull sensations that you're probably feeling are because you did damage your spine. Nothing serious, of course, you should recover completely, but as the swelling recedes, you may start to feel the discomfort from your other injuries. You understand?"

"I think I do," David nodded. "How long am I going to be here, doc?"

The doctor mused for a moment. "Barring any unforeseen complications, at least two weeks. Then we'll send you home, but again, you'll probably be spending the majority of the time in bed. I don't expect you to be ready to move around for at least a month, and then at least another month before you're on your feet again and mobile."

With every step deeper into the murky cave, Tommy became more and more uneasy. There was a gentler thrumming from down below that was growing with every step, and the wind that wafted up in their faces wasn't cool. It was warm and humid. Some of the steps were slick with moisture and other substances that the big man didn't bother to consider.

"You come down here often?" he asked as his foot slipped a bit on a step.

Aphrodite gave a gentle mocking laugh. "Not if I can help it. I'm a spring girl. This place is so fall." She chuckled quietly at the little inside joke.

"So the person we need to talk to is down here?" Tommy asked again for the fifth or sixth time, his eyes glancing back up occasionally.

"What's this?" Aphrodite turned to look at him. "Big guy like you scared?"

"Hey, lady," Tommy shot back. "Every step down is one more closer to Hell, literally."

"Relax you big softy," she waved a dismissive hand. "We're not going any further than the river, kay?" She rolled her eyes.

As they continued down, they felt the heat growing, and the gentle thrum became a distant roar of endless fires. Over the din, they began to discern two things. First, the humidity was constantly rising, and secondly, they could here a harsh voice, mutteringsomewhere below.

"Okay," Tommy said suddenly. He stopped where he was. "That's it! I'm not going any further!"

Aphrodite turned around and looked hard at him. "You're that scared?" she said mockingly. "Maybe they should call you Teddy Bear? Get a grip!"

They came around a final turn in the cavern and the space opened up before them, so vast that he couldn't see the opposite side, even with the benefit of the eternal fires of the Underworld.

Nearby, a single, rotten wooden dock rested, stretching out from the shingles on the edge of a sluggish body of water. Moored at the dock was an old, black wooden boat that seemed built to inspire the finality of life. A deaths head mask was painted on the stern, looking out through a carved hood. Tatters of cloth hung like cobwebs over the entire thing. A single figure moved about inside the small open craft, muttering out loud.

He turned around when he heard the footsteps on the shingle.

"Whoah!" Tommy cried in fright when he saw the figure. It was a man, gaunt and skeletal, with mottled grey flesh and black pits for eyes. He smiled with rotting teeth when he saw them.

"Well, now," He said gruffly. "Things must be slow all over? You walking them down in person now?" He shrugged. "Never mind. Give me the coin and we'll get going?"

Tommy gulped. "Uh, coin? What?"

The man rolled his black eyes skyward. "Is there a sign up there that says 'Free Rides Across The River Styx', or something? You wanna cross? It'll cost you a coin! No free rides, period!" He eyed Tommy more closely as they approached. "Wait a second? You ain't dead!" He looked at Aphrodite. "What is this, tourist season? Why you bringing one of the living down here?"

He looked out at the river and sighed. "They're doing it to me again! Sheesh!" Then he turned back to them. "Look! I don't care how? I don't care why? And I don't care when? But if you ain't dead, then you ain't riding, period! Come back when you're dead!"

"Tommy?" Aphrodite said, gesturing to the man. "Meet Charon."

"Charon? The Ferryman?" Tommy said in horror.

Charon shrugged. 'What? Does it say Charon the Beautician anywhere on me? Look pal, you wanna ride? Three simple steps. Die, pay me, ride, in that order!"

"He's not here for a ride, Charon," Aphrodite replied evenly. "We need some info?"

Charon looked at his moldering robes. "So it says Charon, so bored he'll talk to anyone?"

"Hey!" Aphrodite said sharply. "I need to know if anyone's escaped lately?"

"Escaped?" Charon snorted indignantly. "Obviously you don't know much about the Underworld, do you? This is a one way boat, in fact it's the only boat. This side is the loading zone. The other side is the unloading zone! It never works the other way around!"

"And no one could, I don't know, slip back past you?" Aphrodite replied, raising an eyebrow.

"What am I doing? Talking to myself, here?" Charon replied. He pointed at the boat. "Get on here, get off there, just like that! You got it?"

"Watch the manners with the lady, boy," Tommy said sternly.

Charon laughed and pointed at him, grinning wide. "Ooo, he's got spunk!" He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Okay, this once. Give me the coin and I'll take him straight over, no questions asked?"

"So?" Aphrodite said with a smirk. "No one's ever come through here twice? And no one's ever gone back out?"

"Absolutely! Positively! Not a single one!" He stopped short when he saw Aphrodite's knowing stare. "Okay, fine, there were a couple of very rare exceptions, but I got those orders in writing from the boss, so you can't hold that against me!"

"What about Xena?" Aphrodite asked. "When did she pass through?"

"She didn't!" Charon answered. "Not for the one way trip on my boat, I can tell you that much!"

"You know that for certain?" Tommy asked.

"What am I, a moron, here?" Charon asked himself. "Yes, I'm sure! I remember everyone that I've ferried over to the other side! Every one! And I know that Xena hasn't been one of them! So, thank you very much and have a nice day!"

Charon turned to go, but Aphrodite spoke again.

"But Xena is dead, right?" she asked. "I mean, Gabrielle saw her die?"

Charon turned and laughed. "Well, if Little Gabrielle saw her die, then she must be dead, right?" He said mockingly.

"But you said she didn't come through here?" Tommy asked, beginning to lose his patience. "How could she have died and not come through here?"

Charon looked at them for a moment and then smiled.

"What's it worth to ya?" He asked suddenly.

"What do you want?" Aphrodite asked. When she saw him leer at Tommy, she shook her head. "Besides a passenger?"

Charon thought for a moment and looked around, as if he feared he might be being watched. "Fine! Give me a coin. Something that I don't have to put in the books, and we'll call it a deal!"

Quickly, Tommy dug in his pocket and fished about in his change. He drew out a single penny. He was about to drop it back in and fumble for another denomination when he saw the greedy look in Charon's eyes. Apparently it wasn't the value of the coin that mattered. It was the act of payment that gave him ultimate satisfaction.

He stepped up nervously and dropped the small coin in Charon's hand.

The coin immediately vanished in the tattered folds of his robe and he grinned.

"Okay," he said quietly. "At the last annual S.G.C. shindig, I happened to bump into a couple of those eastern guys!"

"S.G.C.?" Tommy interrupted.

Charon's grin vanished and he looked at Tommy sternly. "Hey, you want information?"

Tommy nodded.

"Then shut up and let me talk!" The Ferryman said.

"Spirit Guides Convention," Aphrodite offered. Then she looked at Charon. "Anyway?"

Tommy shook his head in mild confusion.

"So I bump into a few of these Eastern guys, as I was saying," He fixed Tommy with a pointed look. "And these guys are weird, let me tell you, running around taking pictures of everything? Anyhow, we got to talking shop, you know? Boats versus wings, versus golden paths and the like, and one of them happened to mention that they had gotten a Greek woman mixed in with a really big batch of their own folks!"

"Xena?" Aphrodite asked.

"No, Helen of Troy! Of course it was Xena!" Charon shot back. He took another raspy breath and continued. "Anyway, these clowns were talking about the novelty of having a westerner going through their system, and they got around to describing how things run in their business!" He shook his head. "Compared to my simple operation, they have a revolving door! They were talking about this principle of Kama, or something?"

"Karma?" Tommy offered.

Charon sighed. "You want to let me tell this? Interrupt again and I'll charge you another coin, just for interrupting, so shut up!"

Anyway, we got to talking about this whole Karma thing," He looked pointedly at Tommy again. "And these clowns thought it was a real hoot that this Greek woman was going to end up being reborn! Even if they wanted to keep her, their system doesn't allow it? They were going to have to let her go eventually!"

"Reincarnation," Tommy nodded.

"Whatever," Charon repeated. "So! Xena died over there, and if she's in their system, I probably won't see her any time soon because she's probably already someone's little bundle of joy right now?"

"Someone else's?" Aphrodite repeated.

Tommy's eyes lit up with realization. "Come on!" he said suddenly. "We got to get back!" He grabbed Aphrodite by the wrist, again too excited to think about what he was doing. Then he stopped, reached into his pocket for every last bit of change he had and he dumped the coins into the Ferryman's hands.

Charon's eyes lit up greedily.

"Good meeting you," He said thankfully. "If I know I'm gonna die, I'll be sure to do it in Greece!"

The two of them turned and headed quickly for the stairs.

"Hey!" Charon called back. "You show up on my dock, don't worry about it! I'll just call it a prepaid toll, okay? Hey! You wanna hear my take on this whole Heaven thing?"

But it was too late, the two of them were gone.

"Ah, whatever," Charon muttered to himself, examining the handful of coins with delight. "He'll be back, sooner or later?"

The two of them were still running full speed, amidst Aphrodite's protests when they burst back into existence outside the hospital.

"Will you stop!" She finally cried out. "You ever try to run in heels?"

Tommy stopped and turned to look at her impatiently. "It's not my fault you went for the 'yuppie biker chick' look, now is it?"

Aphrodite sat down and massaged her ankles. "I don't see what the big deal is, anyway. You gave him a pocket full of coins for what?"

"I gave him ninety-five cents for a million dollar answer!" Tommy exclaimed. When he saw the confused frown on the Goddess's face he sighed. "Come on! Put it all together? You can't be that dense?"

Again, the Goddess frowned at him disdainfully. "Why are you so, so, so rude?" She stamped her foot.

"Just focus and put it together, will you?" Tommy replied. "David and Gabrielle zip out of here a year ago. The two of them are doing fine, doing whatever they've been doing? Suddenly, Gabrielle gets pregnant, and right after that, David's warranty expires and everything that should have broken starts breaking?"

"Yeah?" Aphrodite said. "He hurt his back whenHercules was helping him build his house?"

"You sure about that?" Tommy asked. "What about the broken legs and arm? What about his shoulder?"

Aphrodite shrugged.

"The only thing that's changed for certain is that Gabs is pregnant!" Tommy said, since Aphrodite seemed unable to begin the equation. "Now add your 'Ares' little bout of joy at the pool' to what Charon said to us?"

"Okay?" Aphrodite shrugged. "Then what?"

"I'll bet you my next month's salary that Gabrielle is going to have a girl." Tommy finished knowingly.

"Boy, girl, what difference does that make?" Even as she finished the question, her voice faded away as dawning lit up her eyes. "Xena?"

Tommy shrugged. "Ares said you played your part too. He wanted the two of them to get together! You also said that Xena was an obsession for him?"

"Oh wow!" Aphrodite said, rising to her feet. "Oh wow! Oh wow! We have to get up there and tell them!" She ran past him, then she turned back to him, and in the midst of her excitement, she kissed him happily. When they parted, they each looked at the other with a surprised expression on their faces. Aphrodite quickly smiled again, her excitement taking hold once more. "Come on!"

This time, she grabbed his hand and yanked him towards the door.

They burst into the hospital room, just as David was settling down to try and stomach a hospital lunch. He nearly spilled the tray when he jumped in fright. A groan of pain emanated from him, and Gabrielle quickly stepped to his side.

"We got it!" Tommy shouted triumphantly. "We got it!"


	4. Variables

**Variables**

No one said a word for a long time. David looked from Aphrodite, to Tommy, and then back at his wife.

"This is what you came up with?" he finally asked, looking back at Aphrodite and Tommy.

"It isn't as far fetched as you might think," Shilah said calmly. "There are many cases where the same souls have shared lives in this way, each one taking turns raising the other over many lifetimes before sharing one that is parallel?"

"You're buying into this?" David looked at his mentor in disbelief.

"I'm just saying that it's a possibility," Shilah reiterated. "Frankly, it's the only possibility that seems to fit the facts that we have?"

David's one good hand came up to his face and he groaned.

Gabrielle absently touched her belly and smiled, looking up at David.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I was just thinking," David replied. His voice was muffled behind his hand.

"About what?" Aphrodite asked.

"In about fifteen years, it's going to be insane," David said. "Teenagers are bad enough, but to have a reincarnated warrior princess in adolescence. God, I'd rather have my tonsils taken out through my ears."

"What?" Gabrielle laughed.

"I can just hear it now," David said. "Hey dad, can I borrow the katana tonight? Me and some of the girls are going to go out to that war camp, just outside town, and knock a few heads in? Oh, that's fine dear, just be back by ten."

Gabrielle and Aphrodite laughed, while Shilah merely smiled and Tommy looked somber.

"Always assuming you get that far?" He added.

"What do you mean?" Gabrielle asked.

Tommy sighed. "Well, it's pretty obvious that Ares wanted you out of the picture," He said, nodding at David. "Let's face it. Ares wanted you around long enough for Gabs to get pregnant. Now, he might have known about the 'loophole' as Dite put it, or he might not? It doesn't matter. The bottom line is, with you gone, and Gabby being out of it after she has the baby, it wouldn't be too hard for old Ares to sneak in and make off with her? He already knows who she's going to be. The fact that it'll be Xena is only an addedbonus. With a little gentle prodding in the right places, he might be able to finish what he started the first time around no matter who the child is?"

Aphrodite frowned and looked at him. "Man, you really know how to kill a mood."

Tommy shrugged. "I just call em like I see em?"

"No," Shilah added. "He's right." She placed two fingers on her chin and mused quietly.

"Think of it?" She said. "A child like yours would be a valuable tool for him. A warrior's spirit and a shaman's abilities? If this child had the innate talents that you both possess," she gestured to David. "And the martial skills of the two of you, mixed together? My God, it could be the most formidable individual. Now, add to it that this child will actually be the reincarnation of his protégé, along with whatever gifts shewill most likelyinherit from the two of you, and that will make her even stronger?"

"Like, a new and improved Xena?" Aphrodite asked.

"If you like?" Shilah replied easily. She turned to Gabrielle. "You told me yourself, that you and Xena had some training in the arts of shamanism in the past?"

Gabrielle's eyes widened in horror. "An even more powerful Destroyer of Nations."

"That's if Ares gets his hands on her," Aphrodite said with uncharacteristic calm. "We'll just make sure that doesn't happen, kay? We've already blown his plan wide open and stopped the first part of it? We saved David's life. I'm sure he was counting on Davie dying. That didn't happen, so he's screwed, right?"

"Maybe?" David said, unconvinced. "Or maybe it won;t make that big a difference. In either case,we'll need to come up with something that will keep him out of our lives for good, one way or another."

Aphrodite looked from David, to Tommy, to Shilah and then at Gabrielle. They all had the same, resigned expression.

"Now, wait just a minute!" she protested. "I don't mind helping throw hitches into his plans, but you guys are, like,talking about killing Ares! I'm not down with that?"

"No one is asking you to help?" Shilah replied.

"We're hoping that it doesn't come to that," David replied at the same time. "We just want to discourage him from making the attempt, that's all."

Aphrodite obviously didn't buy it. She knew the look on the faces of the humans all too well. It was the same look that Xena had worn before her war with the other Olympian Gods, and now most of them were dead.

She backed away from them and turned, running out the door.

"Tommy?' David asked.

"On it." Tommy replied and he went after her.

Once they were both gone, David looked long and hard at Shilah.

"I know what you're thinking," Shilah said. "And you know I don't approve. It's dangerous. It may not even work? If it doesn't, I can see it enraging him to the point where he might just kill you outright and be done with it?"

"Give me another option?" David asked.

"What are you two talking about?" Gabrielle asked.

"Better if you don't know," Shilah replied. There was a hint of fear in her dark eyes. Then she looked at David. "You hardly have the strength to put the necessary energy into the preparations right now?"

"I'll be ready in a few weeks," David said. "In the mean time, do you still have that Power of Attorney that I had drawn up?"

"Of course?" Shilah said.

"Then order what we need. Use the funds in my accounts, and have it delivered to the clubhouse. I'll recover there when they let me out. That will put everything where we'll need it."

"You realize that this will have to be done in a completely traditional way?" Shilah countered. "That means traditional tools and everything?"

David smiled ruefully. "I've gotten pretty good with manual tools in the last year. That won't be a problem."

"And, with this kind of magic, some of the components…"

"I know." David cut her off quickly. "Just do it. If we come up with another idea, we can always have a bonfire, but I won't go home without some kind of back up plan. The stakes are far too high."

"You know I don't condone this type of magic," Shilah finished darkly. "This goes against everything I've ever taught you."

David nodded. "As I said before: Give me another option, and I'll take it. Until we come up with one, however, I have to go with what I know."

Shilah looked at him sternly, her eyes searching deep into his. Finally, she sighed and nodded. "I'll make the calls." She studied him a moment more and then withdrew.

Gabrielle watched her go, a feeling of cold dread creeping into her belly.

"Do I want to know?" she asked, looking down at David.

David looked at her, and instantly she had a memory of another person with that same gaze, causing an uncontrollable terror to well up in her soul. She caught her breath.

"We both know that my abilities come from a very different place, Gabrielle," David said with unnerving calm. "Nickoli's heritage is still in my veins. I told you before, that my energy was, by nature, a dark energy." He sighed, looking up at the ceiling and seeing nothing. "To do what I'm planning, I'm going to have to get very, very dark."

Aphrodite pushed through the thick glass doors and stormed away from the building, tears in her eyes. Her insides were all turned around.

"Hey!" A voice called behind her. She ignored it and kept walking.

Finally, Tommy stepped in front of her, his massive bulk blocking her path. "You can't tell me that you didn't know it might come down to this?"

She looked up at him, and Tommy's eyes went wide. "You really didn't know?" He finished.

"Of course I didn't!" Aphrodite shouted back at him. "I thought we'd get David all patched up and then they could handle it together, just like they've handled everything else!"

"What do you think he's trying to do?" Tommy asked.

Aphrodite shook her head. "No! I saw the look in his eyes back there! The last time I saw that look, six mortals died!"

Tommy was stunned. "When did this happen?"

Aphrodite looked skyward and crossed her arms. "Right after I got him back to Gabrielle."

Tommy considered for a moment. "Did he have any other choice?"

Aphrodite thought for a moment, looking completely despondent. "No." She finally admitted. "They were about to kill Gabby."

"That's what I mean," Tommy said earnestly. "Now, I know Shakespeare. Granted, I never knew he had it in him to actually kill someone, but I wasn't there, so?" He shrugged. "My point is this: If there is another way, then put it on the table?"

"You don't understand!" Aphrodite cried helplessly. "The other time I saw a look like that, I lost my entire family! My parents! My sisters and brothers, cousins, everyone except Ares!" She sighed. "As lame as it sounds, he's all I got left?"

Tommy smiled. "It doesn't sound lame," he said. "But, you're going to have to pick sides eventually, and follow through with it? Right now, you chose to help Gabrielle because she's obviously important to you, right?" He gently reached out and put a finger under her chin, lifting her eyes to meet his. "Right?"

Aphrodite smiled sadly and nodded. "I – she's, like, I don't know, kind of the sister I never had? Every time I see her with David, I just know how happy she is and it makes me happy, you know? I mean, it is my job anyway, right? But with her, it's always been more than that? Now you guys are telling me that you're going to have to take out my brother, in order to save my friend?" The tears began to fall. "Oh, this is all so confusing!" she blurted out.

Tommy wrapped an arm around her and let her expend her emotions. "You can't have two families, Aphrodite," Tommy said. "Eventually, you're going to have to choose one over the other?"

"I know," Aphrodite said against his shoulder. "I just don't want anything to happen to either of them."

"Shakespeare and Gabs, or Ares?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah," Aphrodite replied, sniffling.

Tommy looked down at her for a moment and suddenly realized that he was actually comforting a Goddess. The whole idea of this struck him as strange and ironical. He had always imagined deity as being rather aloof and unconcerned. This was something completely different. He had never counted on a God or Goddess actually having feelings? Well, simple problems call for simple solutions. He pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the hospital switchboard, asked for David's room.

"Hey Gabs," he said. "Look, I'm gonna take Dite out for a drink or three. Tell Shakespeare we'll be back later, right? Cool." He spied Shilah coming out of the main doors and nodded.

"No, that's fine, I see her coming now. You two take it easy. Later." He snapped the phone closed. Shilah came up to them and smiled.

"I already took the liberty of calling a cab for myself. I'll head back up to the clubhouse, and meet you there later."

Tommy nodded and watched the High Priestess depart.

"Come on," he offered his arm. "Let's go have a drink and see if we can come up with another option, right?"

"I look totally gross," Aphrodite sulked, trying to fix her face suddenly as she wiped the tears away.

"You look fine to me?" Tommy reassured her. "But we'll find a dark little hole in the wall bar if that'll make you feel better?"

She smiled at the compliment and accepted his arm.

Over the next three weeks, David received visits from nearly everyone in the whole Zombie Squad, as well as a few others that were not affiliated with the extended family. When it was finally the day for him to be discharged, hospital patients and staff alike watched as a veritable parade of motorcycles pulled up in front of the main doors, surrounding the gleaming blue bulk of David's own pickup truck. The windows rattled from the rumbling cacophony.

There sat Dusty, astride a gleaming new bike of his own, next to the massive yellow shape of Johnny's motorcycle.

At the front of the group sat the Lady, gleaming red and sparkling in the sunlight. Gary sat astride her, smiling as he watched them bring David out in a wheelchair.

Next to him was the familiar silver Hyabusa, ridden by Derek, his olive skin shining in the sunlight. He gave Gabrielle a friendly wink.

Hospital security thought about making the massive procession clear the entrance, but given that the average size of the men on the machines was about twice that of the average security guard, they thought better of the idea.

As soon as David and Gabrielle came out into the light, all of the bikes thundered to life, roaring so loudly that the receptionist at the main desk had to hold one finger in her ear when she spoke on the phone. David and Gabrielle both flushed in embarrassment at the spectacle. Tommy helped David up into the front seat of the truck and then held the back door open for Gabrielle.

"Hey Gabby," Aphrodite said, sliding into the seat next to her.

"You seem to be feeling much better?' Gabrielle commented, looking at the Goddess curiously.

"Well," Aphrodite shrugged. "I've been seeing the sights, doing some shopping! You should see the malls in this place!" She shook her hands excitedly. "We still have shopping to do for you know who?"

Gabrielle laughed quietly. Whatever Tommy had been doing to keep the Goddess's mind off of the near future, it was obviously working.

"I learned how to ride," Aphrodite volunteered suddenly, grinning wide.

"What?" Both David and Gabrielle exclaimed in surprise. David looked at Tommy, who merely shrugged.

"Don't look at me, man?" he said. "I showed her the bikes, the next thing I knew, she had Rosie all fired up and away she went?"

"Rosie?" David exclaimed, his head swinging back around to look at Aphrodite. "Dite, if you scratched one piece of that bike?"

"Relax, studly," Aphrodite replied. "She was very helpful. I can see why you had as much fun with her as you said? She's a blast!"

David looked at Tommy critically and then put his head in his hands. "You let her out with Rosie?" he groaned.

"Did you learn to ride when you were here last time?" Aphrodite asked excitedly.

Gabrielle smiled and looked sympathetically at her husband. "Things were a bit busy the last time I was here?"

"That's okay," Aphrodite said cheerily. "I can show you."

"No!" Both Tommy and David exclaimed at the same time.

"Why not?' Aphrodite pouted.

"Dite?" David exclaimed. "Gabrielle is pregnant. All that bouncing around? Come on!"

"Oh yeah," Aphrodite looked apologetically at Gabrielle. "I was forgetting about that? Sorry?"

Gabrielle smiled. "I'll learn to live with the disappointment."

"Speaking of the baby!" Aphrodite continued. "I got an idea!"

The procession wound its way north into David's town and filed slowly down the gravel drive to the clubhouse where several other people had barbeque grills in full flame and coolers aplenty, presumably stocked with every manner of drink available. The party was in full swing! David shook his head.

"You did this?" he asked.

Tommy shrugged. "I made a couple of calls?"

He brought the truck to a halt outside the main doors. "Girls, why don't you hop out here, I'll bring David around after we park the truck.

Gabrielle and Aphrodite got out and immediately vanished in a sea of people.

The truck lumbered around back and came to a halt.

Tommy switched it off and sighed. He looked at David.

"That was smooth," David commented. "You think her plan will work?"

Tommy sighed again and shook his head. "It might, in the short term? But we both know that he'll keep coming. As long as that kid of yours isaround, he won't stop. I'm sorry Shakes, but we don't have anything more permanent, and believe me, it wasn't from lack of brainstorming either?"

"How's Shilah handling all this?" David asked.

"Well," Tommy said, shaking his head. "There is one very unhappy High Priestess, let me tell you?"

"I know," David nodded grimly. "But I think she understands, down deep, that this might be the only way?" He looked back at the building. "The materials all here?"

"Except for some of the more nasty stuff, they're in the room," Tommy said. He looked at David for a long moment. "Look, maybe I can help you out on this? You're not going to be in any condition-"

"Thanks, man," David shook his head. "But you know how this works. I have to do it, alone."

Again, Tommy sighed.

David smiled. "Come on, let's get in there and have some laughs. There'll be plenty of time for grim reality later?"

The party went on for the rest of the day and long into the night. By the end of it, even Aphrodite was feeling more than a little tipsy. She threw her arm around Tommy's neck ar one pointand smiled drunkenly.  
"I'll give you this," she giggled. "You mortals sure have learned how to throw a great bash!" She waved her free hand about, taking in the entire throng. "This ranks up there with anything I've done back home!"

"Thanks." Gently, Tommy retrieved the half empty glass in her hand and sniffed it. He rolled his eyes.

"Dusty!"

"Yo!" The familiar blonde haired man slid out from beneath one of the bike racks. He leapt to his feet, in spite of his obvious inebriation.

Tommy held the glass up. "Did you do this?"

Dusty smiled a toothy grin and shrugged. "She said she wanted something that would light her fires?"

"Jack and Seven?" Tommy asked again. "Are you nuts?"

"Jack with a splash of Seven," Dusty corrected him. "And, yes I am!"

"Lord, have mercy," Tommy rolled his eyes.

"Gimme that," Aphrodite said, grabbing the glass from him and tossing the rest of the drink down. "I'm a Goddess for crying out loud! I can handle it!"

The empty glass crashed on the concrete floor and she sagged against him.

Tommy scooped her up as she was fading fast.

"Goddess you might be," he said, looking down at her drunkenly smiling face. "But someone should have told you that drinking was the Devil's game."

His eyes scanned the crowd and he found David and Gabrielle amidst a throng of people, socializing happily.

"Yo! Shakes!" Tommy called out.

"Yo! Shakes!" Aphrodite echoed, smiling.

Gabrielle and David both looked over at Tommy and they began to grin.

"I believe our guest has had enough for one night!" Tommy announced. "Hey, Mouse, mind if she takes your old room?"

Gabrielle laughed out loud and shook her head. "Not at all."

Gently, Tommy climbed up the stairs into the main room and made his way to the back hall, sitting the toasted Goddess on the simple bed that Gabrielle had used nearly a year ago. Gently, he helped her out of her leather jacket and then laid her down on the bed.

"What's the deal?" Aphrodite asked as Tommy pulled her boots off and grabbed the blanket. "Gonna get me drunk and take advantage of me?" She giggled again. "That might be fun?"

"I'm sure it would," Tommy chuckled. "Maybe next time?" He pulled the blanket up to her shoulders and then gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "See you in the morning?"

"You're a real nice guy," mumbled the drunken Goddess.

Tommy set the small waste can next to the bed, just in case.

"Did deities puke?" He thought. "Holy vomit? Now there was a wacky concept? Better not to take the chance."

He rose to leave, but her hand caught his wrist.

"Don' go," she asked, almost begged. "I'm tired of being left all alone."

"Aphrodite?" Tommy replied, but he saw the look in her eyes and smiled.

"Okay," he said, pulling the chair next to the bed and taking her small hand in his. "I'll hang around for a little bit."

She smiled again, her eyes fluttering. "You are a Teddy Bear…" she sighed.

"Don't tell anyone," Tommy smiled.

Aphrodite made the sign of zipping her lip, giggled softly, and promptly passed out.

Tommy looked down at her and smiled. "Dusty got a Goddess drunk," he mused. "Damn, if I tell him, we'll never live this one down."

He stayed in the room with her for over an hour until he was certain that she was down for the duration, and then he quietly left, closing the door behind him.

"I'll say this much," He said when he slid next to Gabrielle and David a few minutes later. "She knows how to have a good time?"

"Oh?" Gabrielle asked.

Tommy saw the inference in her look and rolled his eyes. "Yeah right! Come on?"

The party was finally winding down and all but the most die hard party goers were still in attendance. They helped David up the steps and into the main room where he settled back into his wheelchair and rolled over by the sofa, a much needed cigar smoldering between his teeth.

"You have no idea how much I have missed these?" he said as Tommy set another drink in front of him.

They both looked over at Gabrielle, now in the midst of another conversation with Katrina and Michelle.

"Hey!" David called over to them. "You are not taking her downtown again, got it?"

Michelle rolled her eyes and waived a dismissive hand in his direction.

David turned back to Tommy. "Okay, down to business," he said, his mood sobering. "If I'm going to pull off this stunt, I'm going to need to boost my system over the next week at least?"

"Already thought of that," Tommy said, smiling. "I picked up a thing of protein shakes and Vitamin C and E supplements. I figure if we boost your immune system and start pumping in everything that your body needs to fix itself, we can get you in decent shape for when the two of you go back? I also came up with a few other little concoctions that might help?"

David smiled and looked over the rim of his glass at his friend. "I'm surprised no one has suggested that Gabby and I stay here?"

"Oh, don't think it hasn't crossed our minds?" Tommy replied. He looked at David with those knowing eyes and sighed. "But we all know that you won't, so why bother?"

He paused for a moment and then continued. "You could settle my curiosity, though? Why wouldn't you want to stay?"

David thought for a while and then smiled. "I got a life there, buddy. I built my own house and I have a job that pays pretty well."

"Job? Doing what?" Tommy asked.

"Furniture maker," David replied. "Among a few other projects?"

Tommy laughed out loud. "You're kidding? You opened your own little business, selling tables and chairs? I love it!"

David shrugged. "It pays for what we need. Besides, it's so much simpler back then. Not a bunch of rules and regulations mucking up the works. If I try something, I don't need a permit, I just, try it?" He looked wistful for a minute. "And the things I've seen? God Tommy, you wouldn't believe it! I saw the Sphinx at Giza, nose and all. I actually walked around the Great Pyramids! No tour guides, no international Terrorist threats! Just me and my wife! I've seen castles that don't exist, met people that are only legends now!"

"Yeah, Like who?" Tommy asked, sipping his drink.

"Hercules, for one?" David replied.

Tommy choked on his drink and set it down. "What?"

David grinned. "The Son of Zeus, himself. He actually helped me finish building our house?"

"Bullshit," Tommy said, not believing a word of it.

"Ask Gabrielle, if you don't believe me?" David countered.

Tommy leaned back.

"Hey, Gabs!"

The bard turned, looking at him inquisitively.

"Who helped Shakes build your house?" Tommy asked.

Gabrielle didn't bat an eye. "Hercules."

Tommy looked back at David who merely shrugged. "What can I say? I have friends in high places."

"You met Hercules?" Tommy laughed.

"Is it so hard to believe?" David countered. "We've got the Goddess of Love passed out in the spare guestroom?"

Tommy considered that for a moment and nodded his head. "Got me there."

The next morning, Gabrielle stole quietly out of the room that she and David shared, heading for the bathroom. She paused when she heard a soft groan from the room across the hall.

Smiling, she quietly opened the door to the guestroom and saw Aphrodite, lying on her side, one hand holding her head.

The first thing that Gabrielle noticed was the somewhat acrid smell. Apparently, at some point in the night, the Goddess of Love had gotten a bit ill.

"How you feeling?" Gabrielle asked quietly.

Aphrodite held up her hand. "Please. Not so loud." She begged. She rolled onto her back and kept her eyes closed. "Wow, that was one doozie of a party! I feel like my head's going to explode?"

"Welcome to the future?" Gabrielle offered. "I probably should have warned you first?"

"Yeah," Aphrodite nodded.

A voice boomed from the main room as a door opened.

"Hey kids! Anyone alive in here?" It was Tommy.

A look of sudden panic crossed the Goddess's face. "Oh, Gabby, you can't let him see me like this?" She tried to move, but the effort made her wince in pain.

"Why not?" Gabrielle teased. "He saw you pretty drunk last night?"

"He did?" Aphrodite asked with dread. "Oh no! I didn't, you know, do anything?"

"Besides pass out in his arms?" Gabrielle replied lightly. "No, not unless you were conscious when he brought you in here?"

Aphrodite paled, if that were possible, her dread becoming full blown horror.

"I don't know?" she admitted. "Oh my! Gabrielle, I don't know if anything happened? Did he say anything? I mean, you know?"

Gabrielle couldn't resist. "Well, he was gone for a while, and he had a big smile on his face when he came back out to the party?"

Aphrodite's mouth dropped open in absolute shock and then she pulled the blanket over her head and moaned. "Oh, man. Don't let him see me!"

Gabrielle laughed and pulled the blanket back down. "Relax, Dite," she said comfortingly. "Nothing happened."

There was a gentle knock on the door frame, and Aphrodite saw Tommy's shadow just outside the door. She desperately shook her head.

Gabrielle smiled even more. "Come in?"

Once again, the Goddess dove under the covers.

Tommy came in and saw the quivering bundle on the bed. He grinned.

"Is she alive?"

"More or less," Gabrielle replied.

Tommy noted the smell in the room and smiled in spite of it. He went and opened the window, allowing the cool morning air to flow into the room. Then he set a small glass bottle on the nightstand and took the soiled trash can.

"I'll just take this," he said. Then he placed a gentle hand on the shaking covered figure on the bed. "There's a bottle of iced coffee on the night stand. I think it'll help?"

Then he stepped out of the room and vanished.

"Is he gone?" Aphrodite asked timidly.

"If you're so worried about how he's going to see you?" Gabrielle asked. "Why don't you, you know, just fix it?"

"Because," Aphrodite groaned. "If I use my powers, it might get Ares attention, and then we'd be in real trouble."

Gabrielle sighed, silently thanking her for protecting them.

"You're welcome," she replied, hearing the thought.

"You need to get cleaned up," Gabrielle said quickly. "Tommy won't be back for a few minutes. Come on."

Aphrodite slowly rolled up to a sitting position, her eyes squinting at the light bleeding in through the blinds on the window.

"Where we going?" she asked.

"Just down the hall." Gabrielle offered. "You need a shower."

"You talking about the neat little hot water thingy?" Aphrodite asked thickly. "Yeah, that might help?"

Gently, Gabrielle helped Aphrodite down the hall and got her situated. Then she left her hung over friend to clean herself up. She shook her head in wonder as she went back to the main room and looked for something to drink. She found the orange juice in the cooler and poured herself a glass, sipping thoughtfully.

"Wow," she pondered. "Her first time in the future and we mortals get her totally in the bag? That's pretty impressive."

A she was placing the gallon container back in the cooler she spied several other things in the adjacent cabinet, all of them labeled 'David'. Frowning, she drew out the large white tub and the two smaller bottles. She read the labels and her frown deepened.

One of the smaller ones said Vitamin C – 500 mg. The second said Vitamin E – 800 mg, and the large one was labeled. 'Protein Booster'. In the drawer above the small storage cabinet she found several hand written notes. They were recipes for various herbal mixtures. They all had one thing in common. They were designed to help increase David's rate of healing.

The outside door opened and Tommy came in. "You know. I never knew that Gods could actually puke? It's actually quite funny when you think about it?" The words died on his lips when he saw Gabrielle looking at him, his recipes in her hand.

"Something you want to tell me?" she asked.

Tommy looked at her for a moment and then shrugged. "Actually, no."

"Tommy?" Gabrielle pressed.

The big man squirmed and then looked down the hall. "Where's Dite?"

"She's in the shower," Gabrielle said evenly. "So, spill it."

Tommy sighed and stepped to the bar, looking down at the three containers. She smiled ruefully.

"Okay," he said. "The one in your hand is a Vitamin C supplement. Vitamin C helps boost the body's immune system, allowing it to better fight of infection and disease. The other one is a Vitamin E supplement, which helps get the body going as far as healing injuries. The big one is a Protein Booster with a Calcium additive for bone structure. Now, when the body gets injured, it requires protein to help rebuild it. And bones require calcium. Most of the time, the body will get what it needs from other sources, usually the muscle tissue. This will give his body what it needs while keeping his muscle mass healthy."

"And these?" Gabrielle held up the papers.

"A few concoctions I came up with to boost his metabolism so that he heals a bit faster?" Tommy replied. He looked at Gabrielle seriously. "Gabs, in about ten day at most, you guys need to head back. If you stay much longer and keep growing the way you are, Ares is sure to see the difference and know something is up?"

"He could take all this with us and heal at home?" Gabrielle replied. "There's more isn't there?"

"Yes there is," Tommy replied.

"David told me about going somewhere dark," Gabrielle said. "What did he mean?"

"What did he tell you?" Tommy asked.

"He told me everything," Gabrielle lied. "A lot of it just didn't make sense. Why don't you explain it to me?"

Tommy smiled at the obvious bluff. "Tell me what he told you, and I'll explain it?"

Gabrielle sighed. Her bluff had been called. "Fine, then answer something for me?"

"I'll try?" Tommy replied.

Gabrielle thought for a moment. "Is this dark place David talks about a part of his magical abilities?"

"Yes."

"Are the preparations he's planning dangerous?"

"Very, but only as far as his healing is concerned." Tommy replied neutrally.

"If it works, will it kill Ares?" Gabrielle asked.

"No."

They both heard the water shut of in the bathroom. Gabrielle took a deep breath.

"If it doesn't work, could it get David killed?"

"Most likely."


	5. Final Total

**Final Totals**

For the following days, David was constantly swallowing pills or drinking the protein shakes several times a day. On top of those, Tommy's strange concoctions actually seemed to help his body repair itself.

Even though the initial estimates had said that David would be in the wheelchair for at least two weeks, by day ten he was able to walk about for short periods of time.

Though he maintained a cheerful countenance, Gabrielle could see the strain in his face as he pushed himself. Every time she tried to get him to stop, he shook his head.

Even Aphrodite began to catch on that he was pushing. Whenever she seemed about to press the issue, however, Tommy would bring some odd subject up or other, distracting her from her observations. And even though this always had the desired effect, it also left Aphrodite and Tommy together, sometimes for hours on end.

At times, he would return to them, looking completely worn down, as though his patience had been tested to ever increasing limits.

Quietly, Tommy and Shilah spread the word that the clubhouse would be off limits in the coming days. No one should come there unless the circumstances were dire.

Early one morning, before the sun rose, David climbed stiffly out of the bed and gave Gabrielle a kiss before he stole out into the main room. He downed two more of the supplemental shakes along with a double dose of the vitamins, and then he dressed and went down the steps into the shop. He paused staring at the unobtrusive white door at the rear of the building; a feeling of cold dread, mixed with odd excitement began writhing in his belly.

Then he opened the locker containing the fencing gear, among other things, and drew out a hunting bow and a quiver of hand made arrows.

He inspected the projectiles closely and then slipped the quiver over his stiff shoulders.

The early morning air was cool and moist, with mists creeping between the trunks of the trees all around the clubhouse. It seemed that he stood on a small island of solid land, lost in the midst of gray clouds. He turned and walked slowly past the corner of the building.

"Where you going?" a voice asked suddenly. David practically leapt out of his skin. HE turned and saw Aphrodite standing there, looking at him with cold blue eyes.

He gave a little cry of fright and wheeled about, though the sudden movement caused him some pain.

"Christ, lady!" he hissed. "What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?"

Aphrodite saw the bow and arrows. Her eyes also noted the colors of his clothing. Dark so that he could blend in with the shadows of early morning.

"What you up too?" Aphrodite asked. There was a tone in her voice that led him to believe she already knew the answer.

"You're going to do it, aren't you?" she asked, her voice rising in protest. "I told you I had a plan!"

"I know,' David replied. "But I need to have something to fall back on if your plan doesn't work."

"It'll work!" Aphrodite cried angrily. "Why can't you trust me?"

"I do trust you!" David replied. "I trust you to be you, just like I trust Ares to be Ares!" He looked at her hard.

"Can you honestly tell me that he'll never bother us again, no matter what?" He asked. "If he waits till you're not around, or occupied? Then he zips in quick and clean, and does the deed? You going to watch over us twenty-four, seven, for the rest of our lives?"

Aphrodite looked absolutely helpless. "He's my brother, David!"

"I understand," David replied. "Believe me. I'm not looking forward to this."

He turned and walked towards the edge of the trees.

Aphrodite's eyes filled with tears. "I can't let you do this!" she pleaded.

David stopped, but he didn't turn back around.

"Well, then either you kill me, or your brother does." He said grimly. "What's the difference?"

After a few moments, he resumed walking towards the trees again.

Aphrodite looked about helplessly, her entire being in turmoil. Then in a bout of anger, she raised her hand, a ball of white energy crackling at her fingertips. Her breath heaved in torment as she tensed.

Another figure seemed to appear from nowhere, coming to interpose itself between her and David.

Shilah's dark eyes flashed protectively.

"Let him go," She said in a soft but commanding tone. Her hands were open at her sides, palms down at the ground, as if she were pulling something up from the ground.

Aphrodite finally saw her, really saw her for what she was. She seemed surrounded by an aura of unbelievable energy. The power seemed to stretch out over her and through her, though she didn't recognize it. She knew it was old, infinitely old and limitless, though not to the caliber of a Goddess, it was pretty darned close.

Another figure came around the corner and saw the standoff.

"Oh boy," Tommy thought. Then he stepped gently to Aphrodite's side and wrapped his big hand around her wrist, ignoring the crackle of energy next to his skin. She looked at him, her face twisted by internal conflict.

"Ease down, Sweetheart," Tommy said gently. He slowly lowered Aphrodite's hand and the energy dissipated. "Just ease down. You don't want this."

They watched David's form vanish into the mists and all the resistance left Aphrodite's arm. She wept, turning again into Tommy's shoulder. When she looked up at Shilah again, she was mildly shocked.

There she stood, a simple, round woman with long dark hair and gentle brown eyes. The High Priestess smiled. "It's time we all have a talk."

Numbly, Aphrodite let Tommy lead her back into the clubhouse.

They found Gabrielle standing at the window, looking out at the spot where David had vanished.

"Since we're all awake," Shilah said as she came in. "We might as well do this now."

While Gabrielle stood vigil at the window, Shilah explained everything to them. Even Aphrodite was amazed at what David was attempting, though she actually began to feel more at ease, the more she began to understand it.

A few hours later, as the early morning sun began to burn the night mists away, Gabrielle stood up straighter.

"There he is!" she burst out, and then her face changed to one of concern. David was staggering back towards the clubhouse, burdened by the carcass of a moderately sized stag.

Immediately, she moved to the back door.

"Stay right there!" Tommy barked, freezing her in her tracks. She looked at him, and then at the figure staggering towards the front of the building.

"You can't help him on this one."

"But?" Gabrielle asked.

Tommy smiled, but there was no humor in it. "If he's got this far, then he's finished the easy part."

"We will not see him for three days," Shilah said. "That is how long he has to complete his task." She gestured to the sofa. "Sit, there's no need for you to tax yourself."

They heard the door open below. The sound of footsteps, accompanied by the occasional grunt or groan as David moved across the floor, then another door opened and closed with an ominous thud. After that, it fell completely silent.

David let the carcass slide gently to the floor and then bolted the door. He struck a match and began lighting the candles in the room. Slowly, the ritual sanctuary melted into view. David looked about and did a fast inventory of everything. The tools were there, all of them crude and functional, but no more. The mortal and pestles, earthenware pots, everything he need was prepared.

His eyes fell on the deep dark sheets of wood leaning against the opposite wall. Then his eyes turned to the statue of the Goddess at the end of the room.

"Forgive me, Mother," he said sincerely, as he looked down at the dead stag, its blood seeping onto the tiles. "But I have to do this."

The statue remained motionless, though David thought he could perceive an expression of solemn understanding on the face. Taking it as a blessing, he set about to his task.

"Three days?" Aphrodite asked. "That's, like, not very long?"

"During those three days," Shilah explained. "As David attempts to accomplish his task, he will not be permitted to either eat or sleep. He will work around the clock until it is complete. If he falters even once, then the magic is broken and he must begin again."

"Three days with no food or rest?" Aphrodite shuddered. "Can he do it?"

Shilah looked at Gabrielle and smiled. "What do you think?"

Gabrielle's eyes went inward to a memory, and she smiled in spite of herself.

_She saw the shadow of a large man crouching next to the fire. Two small tripods rested directly above the merry flames. On one was a small silver bowl, steaming as the contents boiled. On the other was a second, taller pot with a tiny crystal protruding from the lid._

_The figure was dressed in a long black cloak or coat, and she saw the thick soles of tough black boots resting on the earth. The man's hair was long and hung in ragged strings from his scalp, damp either from the recent rain, or from sweating through physical exertion. He looked as if he had traveled for weeks without rest. A bow rested on his back and a quiver of arrows hung beside it._

_He wore fingerless gloves on his large hands, one of them raising a metallic cup to his lips. She detected a nutty scent in the air beneath the others. The cup rose, lowered and then the other hand placed a long smoldering roll of tobacco in the mouth. The pungent smoke puffed out before him. It was a familiar scent, and her heart began to pound._

_Gabrielle said nothing, her eyes still flashing with spots from the explosion and the blow to her head. She saw the shapes of several bodies, lying scattered nearby._

"_You know," The man spoke in a voice that sounded hauntingly familiar. The cup rose and fell again, and he swallowed. "I'm a real dick when I don't get my coffee in the morning."_

_Gabrielle looked at the man and then back at the dead bodies nearby, then back at the stranger again. She knew that voice, but it was impossible!_

"_Anyway," the man continued. "I waited for over a year, you know, just to see if I could get along without you?" He sighed and took another long drag on the cigar. "Turns out that I couldn't. Besides, I always wanted to see the Parthenon before the roof came down?"_

_Gabrielle got to her feet and stepped around, backing unsteadily away from the man. Her eyes were locked on him, waiting for him to rise, attack, or do something._

_He did. His head turned towards her and she looked through the stray stands of hair into his deep brown eyes._

"_Hell," David said. "I figured if I couldn't show you Greece in my time, you might at least show it to me in yours?" His eyebrows rose questioningly. "That is, if you're interested in me sticking around?"_

"_David?" Gabrielle gasped._

_David put the cigar between his teeth and grinned mischievously. His eyebrows rose and fell once. Then she saw the dark scar over his left eye._

"_Interested?" he asked._

Gabrielle's smile widened into one of calm certainty.

"He'll do it," she nodded, seeing Aphrodite scowling at her. "He always finds a way."

"You know," The Goddess said bitterly. "If David doesn't pull this off, or if something totally tanks in this plan, Ares will off him for sure?"

"He knows," Tommy replied.

It was nearly midnight of the third night when they heard the bolt drawn from the door below. They all descended the steps quickly, and saw David stagger out, looking pale and drawn. He leaned his back against the wall and slid down to the floor, completely exhausted. A charnel house smell emanated from the room, causing Gabrielle to wince in recognition. She remembered her excursion into the realm of shamanism. One thing she could never forget was the odor of the dead animal she had been required to use.

"Hey, Shakes," Tommy said, kneeling down and holding a glass of orange juice to his lips. "How you doin?"

David smiled. It seemed that several years had fallen upon him over the past few days. His eyes were sunken and his skin the color of gray paste. He sparked to life when he saw Gabrielle and Aphrodite moving towards the door.

"Don't go in there!" he croaked. They both froze and looked at him. "I don't want to have to do this again."

Gabrielle looked at him and smiled. "You had a couple of hours to spare, you know?"

David grinned. "Shilah, close the door. No one goes in there till after midnight."

Nodding, Shilah stepped over and swung the door shut.

Tommy eased his hands underneath David and hoisted him up. "Like the lady says, we got a couple of hours. Let's get you caffeinated, right?"

David nodded. "Works for me."

They got him on the couch and left him there to relax a bit. His hands were covered in dried blood and several places on his palms were torn open, the result of minor mishaps during the working. He seemed oblivious to the pain.

Gabrielle went into the kitchen and fetched a bowl of water and several clean bar towels, while Tommy deposited a cup of steaming coffee in front of David. He sipped the beverage gratefully.

As Gabrielle came around the bar, Aphrodite stepped forward and took the bowl from her.

"I'll do it," She said suddenly. "I kinda need to talk to him anyway, you know?"

She went over to him and had a few quick words with Tommy before he withdrew.

Aphrodite sat down next to him and looked down at his hands. She grimaced.

"You're going to need the mother of all manicures, you know?" She smiled nervously as she began cleaning the blood from his fingers. "You know, when I made you promise to make her the happiest woman in Greece, I didn't expect you to take me so seriously?"

David smiled. "I don't make a promise that I can't keep."

"I noticed," Aphrodite smiled. She paused a second and looked at him. "If I make a promise to you, would you trust me to keep it?"

David looked at her dubiously. The Goddess shrugged.

"Look, I know I'm a total ditz, sometimes, okay?" She admitted. "But I just, you know? Gabby's like family to me! I won't let anything happen to her either, if I can help it?"

"I know," David replied. "But there's something that you say occasionally that makes me wonder about that?"

"What?"

"Not my department," David said evenly. "It shouldn't matter if someone's that important to you. You do what you can when you can whether it's your department or not?"

"It's not that simple," Aphrodite countered. She resumed cleaning the wounds on David's palm. "There are certain rules that I have to follow. They totally suck sometimes, but I still have to follow them?"

"Better look around, sister," David countered easily. "The rules have changed somewhat. You need to change with them, or you'll end up being obsolete?" He studied her for a long time and then nodded. "I won't do anything unless there is absolutely no other choice. I promise."

Aphrodite looked back at him and finally nodded.

Shilah suddenly spoke up.  
"David. It's time."

"Okay," David struggled wearily to his feet. "Let's do this."

"Hang on a second," Tommy said suddenly. He ducked beneath the bar and came up with several paper board boxes. He began shoving them into a large paper bag. Then he slipped two bottles of Southern Comfort and the Vitamin supplements before handing it to Gabrielle. "Just a little care package," He shrugged.

They all moved down to the main garage, and David pulled a large bundle of material, wrapped in a black cloth, out of the Ritual room.

"Sorry about the mess," he apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Tommy replied extending his hand. David embraced the big man tightly.

"You watch your ass, Shakes," Tommy said fiercely. Aphrodite saw tears forming in the mans eyes.

"Keep the rubber side down?" David replied, stepping away as Aphrodite drew the Chronos Stone out of her bag.

"Always," Tommy nodded, grinning.

David leaned the large bundle against his hip and took Gabrielle's hand. Aphrodite reached over and touched Gabriele's shoulder. She looked once more at Shilah and Tommy before she nodded and smiled. Then the three of them were enveloped in a brilliant green light. When the glow faded, the three of them were gone.

Tommy stared at the empty space for a moment. "Kick his ass, bro." He whispered.

The brilliant sun suddenly flooded their eyes as they materialized in the front of the house. Aphrodite slipped the Chronos Stone back into the leather bag and handed it to Gabrielle. "Better put this back, hon," She suggested. David looked at the strange bag and laughed suddenly. It would be the same moldering bag that he had found it in, about two thousand years in the future.

He chuckled suddenly.

"What?' Aphrodite asked.

"Tell you later," David replied. He began hauling his covered bundle off to one side and buried it in a thin layer of dirt and grass.

When Gabrielle returned, David moved to join them at the house. "How long have we been gone?" he asked.

"Only a few hours," Aphrodite replied, smiling. "One thing I'm good at? Remembering directions!"

"That means Ares is probably getting ready to make another appearance," David said quickly. "I better get out of sight."

Gabrielle looked at him, suddenly frightened. "You sure about this?"

"Don't ask me?" David replied, looking at Aphrodite. "This one's all yours."

"Well," Aphrodite sighed. "We better make this look right?" She blinked, and in a shower of sparks, her modern clothing was once again replaced by her usual, revealing diaphanous outfit.

"Darn," She moaned. "I really liked those clothes too."

She looked at Gabrielle and again, the same transformation occurred and David's wife was once again, clad in a simple dress of local fashion.

Aphrodite winced. "Yeah, the other stuff looked better on you too."

"Dite!" David said.

"I know, I know," she moaned. "Just go. I'll be back in a jiff." She vanished from sight.

Gabrielle looked at David nervously. "You think she'll really be back?"

David kissed her on the cheek and sighed. "I hope so, otherwise, this might get ugly, real fast."

David went into the house and quickly disrobed down to a simple pair of shorts before he climbed back into the bed. He stared at the ceiling, his every nerve alert for what might happen next.

A short time later, Aphrodite reappeared and David heard her have a quick conversation with Gabrielle and a third party. Then everything went ominously quiet. Even the birds seemed reluctant to sing. The wind moved but made no sound.

Gabrielle and Aphrodite sat on the steps leading up into the home, their eyes scanning the area around them. They didn't have to wait long.

In a flash of light, the familiar figure of Ares burst into existence. His eyes rolled skyward for a moment when he saw his sister, and then he forced a smile.

"Hey, sis?" He greeted them. "What are you doing here?"

"Go away, Ares," Gabrielle glowered at him.

Ares shrugged. "Well, you see, I can't do that. We still have to settle up, you and I?" He paused and looked at them closely. "How's that little hubby of yours doing, by the way? I don't see him?"

"He's inside," Aphrodite offered, studying her brother closely.

Ares put on an expression of mock concern. "Not doing too well, is he? Sorry to hear about it. Anyway, about our little arrangement?"

"We never had an arrangement," Gabrielle replied evenly.

"I disagree," Ares waved a finger in her direction. "I told you that I might need something from you when you got back. Well, your back, and now I need something from you?"

"Forget it, Ares," Gabrielle replied. "The only thing I want from you is for you to leave me alone. That seems to be the one thing you can't do?"

"I'd be willing?" Ares countered easily. He sighed dramatically. "Okay, let's cut to it, shall we?"

"I'm listening," Gabrielle kept her voice calm.

Ares smiled coldly. "Right now, your husband isn't doing so hot, is he? Broken bones and some other things, right? I can fix that, if…"

"If what?" Gabrielle replied.

"Well, I guess there's no delicate way to put this: If you give me your child?" He shrugged and smiled as Gabrielle and Aphrodite both felt their jaws drop. Of course they knew that this would be what the God of War wanted, but to actually hear it was something completely different.

"You want my baby?" Gabrielle protested.

"Hey, I'd be doing you a favor," Ares replied. "Kids are so messy. They can be a real nuisance sometimes, especially when they get older. Think of the headaches you'd be avoiding?"

"I can't believe you just asked her that?" Aphrodite shot to her feet.

Ares frowned impatiently. "Don't you have a pedicure to go to or something?" He asked.

He ignored his sisters scathing stare and looked back at Gabrielle, his eyebrows rising inquisitively. "That's the deal?"

When Gabrielle wasn't quick to respond, Ares looked at the sky again. "Might want to hurry, Gabrielle. I don't think your man has much time left?"

Gabrielle's eyes were like glaciers as she stared at Ares. "No deal."

Ares put a finger behind his ear and leaned forward a bit. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"She said no deal," Aphrodite repeated, stepping towards him.

Ares frowned at his sister again. "You sure about that?"

"She sounded pretty certain to me," Another voice said from within the house.

Ares eyes widened as David stepped into view and leaned against the door frame.

"I'm feeling much better, now, by the way," David said, folding his arms across his chest and smiling at Ares. "Thanks for the concern."

"Leave them alone, Ares," Aphrodite said angrily.

Ares pushed past Aphrodite, his anger blazing. "How are you-" He started. An arrow slammed into the ground at his feet, causing him to jump back a step. The golden shaft stayed for just a few seconds and then vanished in a soft shower of sparks.

"What's this?" Ares asked, looking up at the room of the house.

There was another flash of sparks and Aphrodite reappeared in front of the door, standing protectively in front of David and Gabrielle.

"Nice shot, Cupid," Aphrodite smiled proudly.

"Thanks, mom," The young winged figure said, stepping fully into view, his bow bent again, aimed at Ares. "Sup, Unc?"

Ares looked about the grounds and laughed out loud. "What's this?" he asked again. He fixed his dark eyes on the young blonde haired figure atop the house. "This some kind of a joke?"

"I'm not laughing," Cupid replied evenly, his fingers barely restraining the bowstring.

Quickly, David ushered Gabrielle inside and turned back to observe the confrontation.

"Give me a break!" Ares said, stepping forward. A second arrow just missed his foot, causing him to jump back again. He looked up angrily.

"What do you think you're doing?" He yelled at Cupid.

Cupid had another arrow notched and shrugged. "Us archers gotta stay tight, you know?"

"Now, here's my deal," Aphrodite said with unusual steel. "You're going to leave David, Gabrielle, and any kids they might have alone, got it?"

"Yeah, and if I don't?" Ares retorted angrily.

"Ever wonder what might happen if the God of War got struck by one of Cupid's arrows?" Aphrodite smiled coldly. She inclined her head towards her son. "You ever think about that?"

"All the time," Cupid replied, smiling. "I kinda figured that Gramps didn't want me popping the others because it could mess things up?" He smiled slightly as he sighted his uncle along the shaft of his arrow. "Always been kinda curious though?"

"Here's what I think would happen," Aphrodite said proudly, stepping forward and mentally remembering that she needed to stay out of her son's line of fire. "I think that if a god got hit by one of Cupids arrows, like you maybe? I think you'd turn into a love sick little puppy dog? I think you'd fall for the first person you'd see?"

Ares lips were twitching into a fierce snarl.

"And I'd make sure that the first person you'd see would be me?" Aphrodite finished, smiling. "Granted, the idea of my own brother fawning over me is like, totally gross, but the same thing has happened in our family before?"

"You wouldn't!" Ares growled. He looked up at David, still leaning against the door frame.

"I wouldn't look over here, man," David smiled. "You don't want to end up as my bitch."

Ares looked behind him.

"Nothing but farm animals that way," David offered, smiling. "Careful."  
Ares took another step forward, only to have yet another arrow send him jumping back.

He roared in frustration. Behind his bow, Cupid only smiled softly and watched his uncle for any sudden moves.

"Fine," Ares said, backing away from the house. "I'll give you this one, but somewhere, somehow, I'm going to get my Destroyer of Nations back! And not you!" He pointed at David. "Or You!" Now at Cupid. "Or You are going to stop me!" He finished, looking at Aphrodite, his chest heaving in fury. "I'll get her back, no matter what!"

Aphrodite's face changed from one of determination to something resembling sadness.

"You're right," she finally said in a defeated voice. "You won't stop." She looked back at David, her eyes filled with grim understanding. She nodded once and looked back up at him. "Sorry, bro." She stepped back, her eyes welling up with tears.

Confusion spread on Ares face as he watched his sister back away, looking totally heartbroken. Then he looked up at David and his gaze went dark as midnight.

"You!" He growled. He seemed ready to leap at him, Cupids arrows be damned.

David merely held out his hand in a staying gesture.

The God of War seemed suddenly rooted in place. He struggled forward a step or two, trying to bash his way through the spell that David was casting.

Cupid watched this for a moment, and then decided. He let his arrow fly. It ricocheted off the invisible barrier now holding Ares and vanished.

Dust and small bits of debris floated up around Ares as the energies burned through the ether.

Cupid ran down to the edge of the roof and watched in amazement.

"Wicked," He breathed.

Ares was bellowing with fury as he struggled against this new threat. He tried to vanish, but that failed him. Then he drew on his own nearly limitless reserves of power.

David's face broke out in a sweat as he tried to will the enchantments into action, but it was too much. He could feel himself weakening. He couldn't even bring the components he had crafted into play. He cried out in agony.

"Ma!" Cupid shouted over the rising wind.

Aphrodite looked between the two men, her heart torn apart by the events.

"Ma!" Cupid shouted again. "He can't do it by himself!"

Aphrodite's fists clenched in frustration. She bit her lip as she watched the confrontation. Behind David, she could see Gabrielle, on the floor, her eyes wide in horror.

Ares' hand punched through the wall of energy, his eyes alight with battle fury.

"He'll kill him, Ma!" Cupid shouted again. "You know he will!"

Aphrodite looked back at Gabrielle and saw her, alone, with a child constantly under threat, trying to survive and stay clear of Ares for the rest of her life. They locked eyes, and Gabrielle pleaded desperately. Her lips moving, though she couldn't hear her voice.

With a sob, Aphrodite flung her hands towards Ares, adding her own power to the mix. Instantly, the ground where David had camouflaged the rest of his paraphernalia burst upward in a cloud of dust. The large black panels caught in the vortex and swirled upwards, coming back down around the trapped war god. Panels of dark purplish black wood, deep red satin, and the shining cloud of nails all descending upon Ares. He roared in defiance one more time as the sounds of panels slamming together reverberated across the valley. Nails drove their way home in the construct and then, as suddenly as it had started, it was over. The cloud of dust dissipated and left a single large casket shaped box standing on it end in the middle of the yard. It wavered slightly and then fell back with an ominous thud that sent shockwaves through the ground.

From his perch atop the roof, Cupid smiled appreciatively. "Now that was cool."

David let his hand drop and staggered down the steps. He put a hand on Aphrodite's shoulder and saw the tears on her face when she turned around. She wrapped her arms about his neck and sobbed.

David smiled and rocked her gently, all the while repeating quietly. "It's okay. It's okay." He held her a few moments longer and then said, "Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Yeah, right," Aphrodite sobbed.

David held both of her shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes.

"I couldn't have," He repeated gently. "Even at a hundred percent, I couldn't have done it. You saved us all, Dite. Not me, you."

She looked up at him and her eyes began to widen in realization. "I did?"

David nodded.

Aphrodite looked over at Gabrielle as she emerged from the house, her face a mass of conflicting emotions. She stood next to them for a moment and then wrapped one arm around each of their necks and hugged them both tightly.

After a while, Aphrodite broke away and went to stand before the large black coffin. It was intricately graven with runic symbols and ornate tracings that seemed to writhe in the light. The surface shone mirror smooth in the sunlight. Her hand gently touched the surface and she looked back up at David.

"He's still alive, Aphrodite," David nodded. "He's sleeping. Only sleeping."

Cupid dropped from the roof and lighted next to his mother. He put a hand on her shoulder and sighed.

"You did good, mom," he said. "If he had been coming after Eros, you'd have done the same thing, right?"

Aphrodite sniffed and nodded her head.

"Well?" Cupid asked. "What's so different about them?"

"We gotta put him somewhere," Aphrodite said suddenly. "Someone might come by and open him up?"

Cupid thought for a second and then shrugged. "What about those caves that me and the guys go spelunking in, up in Mesopotamia? We put Unc there, and no one will find him for an ape's age?"

"Wait a minute," Gabrielle's voice said from behind them. She came forward with several bags of rolled scrolls. "If you put him somewhere, put these with him?"

"Why?" Aphrodite asked.

"Because he was a part of them, and he's in them. He wasn't always so bad and anyone who finds him should know that?" She shrugged. "If anything, someone reading them might learn about him, and all of us?"

"These are your scrolls Gabrielle?" Aphrodite sniffed.

Gabrielle smiled, pointing at her head. "I still have them, up here."

Aphrodite nodded and accepted the six full bags. Then she faced the coffin again.

"Want some help?" Cupid offered.

"No," Aphrodite put her hand on his arm. "No, I'll do it." In a flash of sparks, Aphrodite and the casket vanished.

Only then did David let his breath out and fall back onto the grass, his arms resting on his knees. He brushed his hair out of his eyes and then drew out a cigar, striking a match on the flags nearby.

Cupid smiled in amusement and stepped over.

"Us archers gotta stay tight, huh?" David asked as he lit the tobacco.

Cupid laughed. "You know it."

David extended his hand, and Cupid grabbed it surfer style and shook.

"Oh," David said suddenly, fishing inside his vest again. He drew out two more of the cigars and extended them to the young archer. "For you?"

Cupid frowned. "Why two?"

David grinned. "One for the one you got. The other for the cousin he'll have in a few months?"

Cupid looked at them curiously and smiled.

"Try em," David suggested. "If anything, they'll drive your wife nuts?"

Cupid laughed again, and then he looked up at the sky and grimaced.

"Oh man," he moaned. "I gotta bail. I'm supposed to take Psyche out for dinner tonight!" He looked down at David and smiled. "You know how hard it is to get a babysitter these days?"

"Fly safe," David grinned.

Cupid looked over at Gabrielle and nodded. "Take it easy, now. Later!"

He waggled his one hand in a 'hang loose' sign, leapt skyward, and vanished from sight.

David lay back on the grass and smoked, watching the clouds moving high above. He sighed.

Gabriele came and stood over him, her face back lit by the sun. She looked radiant as she smiled down at him. She went to sit next to him, but David held up his hand.

"Wait a second," he said quickly. "Don't move."

"What?" Gabrielle asked, smiling.

"Stay right there," David replied, smiling. "I just want to take it all in."

Finally Gabrielle laughed and lay down next to him. "Was that enough?"

"Never," David grinned.


	6. Special Delivery

**Special Delivery**

David came out of the barn, his chest and arms covered in sawdust. He splashed water on his face and looked across the yard at the house, smiling.

He saw Gabrielle stepping heavily down the short steps, preceded by her belly. She looked up at him and smiled back.

"What?" she asked as she came slowly over to him.

David's smile widened and he kissed her forehead. "Just watching you waddle. That's all?"

Gabrielle grimaced. "I don't waddle."

David's hand came to rest on her belly and they felt the life within kick. Gabrielle gasped in shock, and David laughed.

"I guess she didn't like the stew last night?" He mused.

"Or she wants to drive me crazy," Gabrielle replied. "Getting her last few jabs in before she comes out?"

David laughed out loud. Then his expression changed to something more thoughtful. "I wonder if she'll know?"

Gabrielle frowned up at him. "Know what?"

David sighed. "I just wonder if she'll remember, you know? If she'll have all the memories of her past life as well as everything we'll show her?"

Gabrielle shrugged. "Maybe? I don't know? Does it matter?"

"Well," David chuckled. "I just don't want to get the pinch thrown on me again by a toddler?"

Gabrielle laughed and then her eyes drifted towards the horizon. "I wonder how she's doing?"

"Who?" David asked. Then he realized. "Aphrodite? I don't know."

"I'm worried about her," Gabrielle continued. "Since she helped us with Ares, she hasn't been around." She shrugged. "I can't say that I blame her, if she hates us. If you think about it, we did use her, sort of?"

David shook his head. "We didn't use her, Gabrielle. She had to make a choice and she made it. She could have chosen not to help?"

"We both know how that would have turned out," Gabrielle suppressed a shiver.

"Oh, I'm not saying that she made the wrong choice," David added quickly. "After all, it was my neck on the line. Anyone who steps up to save my hide is okay in my book."

"I just wish," Gabrielle started. "I just miss talking to her, you know? As annoying as she could be sometimes, she did always try and do the right thing?"

David wrapped his arm about her shoulder, and the two of them began moving back towards the house.

A sound drifted down from the road off to their right, and the two of them stopped, their eyes searching the surrounding trees. It was a familiar noise, drifting along the wind. A deep and mechanical rumbling.

"What in the hell?" David asked as he watched the bend in the road that passed in front of the entrance to their property. "That sounds like, no, it can't be?"

As they stood, dumbfounded, the familiar bulky shape of Caroline bounced into view and turned in through the gate. The truck's deep metallic blue and silver shimmered in the early evening sun.

"What the hell?" David repeated in disbelief.

The horn blurted a greeting, and Aphrodite leaned out the window. "Hey campers!" She cried gleefully. "What's up?"

David saw Tommy behind the wheel, grinning from ear to ear.

David and Gabrielle exchanged a look of surprise, and then David laughed out loud as Tommy stepped out of the truck.

Aphrodite also jumped to the ground. She wore a pair of blue jeans, her pink blouse and leather jacket. The only difference in the wardrobe this time, were the purely functional boots she wore, instead of the heels that she had used the last time.

Tommy reached behind the seat and emerged with a bottle in each hand.

"We come, bearing gifts!" He announced, holding the bottles out.

David grabbed his friend and hugged him fiercely.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked in amazement.

Aphrodite pulled the back door open and drew out several bags, packed with various parcels.

"Got a few things for you, too!" She grinned happily. She giggled excitedly when she saw Gabrielle's protruding belly. "Clothes for the baby!" she announced.

Gabrielle was almost too stunned to laugh, though it finally did burst out of her.

"What?" Aphrodite asked, suddenly seeming a bit self conscious.

"Nothing," Gabrielle replied quickly. "I just thought, after everything with Ares, that you were angry with us?"

"What?" Aphrodite asked in shock. She smiled. "Well, okay, I was, for a while. But Tommy has a great way of, you know, listening to people," She grinned. "Among other things."

Gabrielle looked over at Tommy in astonishment.

"You mean?" Gabrielle pointed back and forth between the big biker and the Goddess.

Aphrodite's grin broadened and an excited squeak emanated from her throat. Then her face sobered suddenly and she looked guilty.

"Gabby, uh, I kind of have something to say to you," she began.

"Wait a second," David said, looking at his friend. "You mean the two of you are, what, and item?"

Tommy shrugged. "We've been hanging together for the last few months. Just taking it day by day. That sort of thing."

David began laughing out loud and he shook his head. "Well, I'll be."

"She ain't so bad, once you get to know her," Tommy said quickly. "And while I was trying to keep her mind off everything you were planning, we got to know each other pretty good? Nothing major, you know, but enough?" He shrugged again. "Then, a few months back, she shows up at the clubhouse again and we started hanging out. The rest, well?" He smiled again. Then he quickly turned back into the truck. "We got a bunch of stuff for you, and this was the only way we could bring it out, so Dite worked a little hocus pocus, and here we are!" He opened the back door and showed David the stacks of boxes.

"Damn, son," David said appreciatively. "You gonna make the mortgage this month?"

"Well," Tommy shrugged. "Actually, it was Shilah that footed the bill, with your cash?"

David rolled his eyes. "That figures."

Gabrielle looked at Aphrodite carefully. "What is it?"

"I lied to you," She said quickly. When she saw the bard's reaction, she grimaced. "I could have helped David, here, but I really wanted to see his world, and?" She shrugged. Then she heaved an exasperated sigh. "I've just been so lonely since everything happened! I wanted to find someone new, you know? Someone that was more than, well?"

"Aphrodite?" Gabrielle asked, looking hard at her. "Are you saying that you took David and I back, because you were looking for a man?"

Again, Aphrodite winced. "Don't make it sound like that! I wanted to get you and David away from Ares, yes, and I knew that the healers in David's world could patch him up? If they couldn't, well? I would have made sure he was alright anyway? Besides, if we hadn't gone back, he couldn't have put together that whole coffin bit, right?"

"Aphrodite?" Gabrielle's hands dropped to her hips.

"Okay, fine!" She confessed. "Look, I've been going solo since that whole War with the Gods deal, and it sucked! Then, whenever I looked in on you two, I saw how happy you were, and, well, I got a bit jealous, kay? I couldn't take your man from you, cause that would be, like, so wrong! But I thought, since David came from there, then there might be another one like him, you know? So?" She bit her lip nervously. "I kinda snuck into the barn and borrowed the Chronos Stone a few times?"

When Aphrodite looked back up, Gabrielle was smiling, though she tried not to let it show.

"Gabby?"

Gabrielle's smile finally broke and she shook her head. "Shilah was right."

"About what?" Aphrodite asked.

"With the Gods, there's always an ulterior motive."

Aphrodite shrugged. "Hey, what can I say? I may be a goddess, but I do have needs?"

Gabrielle finally laughed out loud. "Okay, fine." She looked at the myriad of parcels in the back of the truck. "What is all this stuff?"

Instantly, Aphrodite's beaming smile reappeared and she quivered excitedly. "Oh, I can't wait to show you!"

Gabrielle reached for one of the bags.

"Hey!" Tommy's voice barked from the opposite side of the truck. "I know you ain't thinking of lifting nothing, right?"

Reluctantly, Gabrielle withdrew her hand. "Me? Why would I do that?"

"Uh huh," Tommy nodded. Then he slapped David's chest. "Come on, let's get this stuff in the house."

David and Tommy brought the load of items into the house, and then, while David gave his friend a quick tour of the property, Gabrielle and Aphrodite began opening the parcels and going through them.

In the end, the living room floor was covered in a wide assortment of children's clothing and toys. Tommy settled into a large wooden armchair and looked about, shaking it gently.

"One of yours?" he asked. "Not bad, Shakes."

David smiled and handed him a glass of whiskey. Then he settled onto the couch, looking about the floor in mild shock.

Tommy gestured with his glass. "We were careful not to bring anything too modern back with us. We don't want archeologists being sent into convulsions if they find your place?"

David nodded. "That's a good idea. Old Arlan McGhee would go spare if he finds all this?" He looked again at the assortment of baby's clothing and chuckled. "Still, I might arrange for him to find a few items, just to mess with him?"

They visited late into the night, laughing and talking merrily. Finally, Tommy let out a sigh. "Well. We're going to have to get back. Dite and I are heading to Sturgis in the morning."

"Sturgis?" David's eyebrows rose. "You're taking her to Sturgis?" He laughed out loud. "Oh my god, I would pay money to see that!"

"Why?" Aphrodite asked, looking over at him.

"Has he told you anything about it yet?" David asked. Aphrodite shook her head.

"Then I won't spoil the surprise," David finished.

"I guess it's time," Gabrielle said mutely.

"Yeah," David replied, his heart beginning to feel heavy as he realized that his friend would be leaving again soon.

"No," Gabrielle continued. "I mean, it's time."

"Time?" David asked, looking over at her, seated in the opposite chair. She was looking down at the floor. At first, David thought she was looking at the myriad of things stacked in front of her, and then he saw the glistening place on the floor beneath her and the dark stain on the bottom of her dress.

"Time!" Aphrodite shouted in sudden surprise. "Oh, boy! You mean it's time, time!"

In one body, the three of them flew into a panic. David dropped his glass on the floor and rushed to Gabrielle's side while Tommy looked about in confusion and then bolted out the door. Instantly, they heard the pickup truck thunder to life.

David and Aphrodite looked at one another, and then at the open door. Smiling, they helped Gabrielle to the bedroom.

A few moments later, Tommy burst into the bedroom and looked at them, frowning. "Uh, why did I start the truck?" He asked helplessly.

David laughed as he helped get his wife situated. "I have no idea."

Suddenly, Gabrielle let out a cry of pain, mingled with surprise.

"Whoa!" Tommy shouted, echoing her cry. "What do I do? What do I do?"

Aphrodite looked up at him and grinned. "Towels and hot water, lover boy!" She said quickly.

"Right!" Tommy vanished out the door, and then he popped back in again. "Uh, Shakes? Where?"

David grasped Gabrielle's hand as another contraction hit. "Upper left drawer, next to the stove!"

"Right!" Tommy vanished again.

David looked over at Aphrodite. "Couldn't you, zip, pow, and they'd be here?"

Aphrodite nodded, grinning. "I just like getting him all worked up. It's fun."

"Not for me!" Gabrielle said through clenched teeth.

"Easy," David said quietly. "Just like we talked about before. Just breathe like we worked on?"

Gabrielle's breath hissed quickly between her clenched teeth.

"Slow down," David said gently.

"You slow down!" Gabrielle shouted at him when the next contraction hit.

David was sure the bones in his hand were about to be pulverized in her viselike grip.

Tommy came in with an armload of towels and set them on the dresser as Aphrodite moved to the foot of the bed.

"You know what you're doing, right?" Tommy asked nervously. "You guys know what you're doing, right?"

"Yeah, sure," David said nervously. He looked at Aphrodite.

"Just relax, boys," The Goddess said nervously. "Everything's under control."

Gabrielle cried out again and Aphrodite looked nervously at David. "I think."

"Oh, man," Tommy kept repeating.

Aphrodite looked back at him. "Tommy! Out!"

"Yeah, right," Tommy said when he saw the first of the blood. His face paled visibly. "I'm a bit on the, uh, yeah, air, air would be good. Truck's still running and all."

"Out!" David and Aphrodite shouted at the same time.

David looked at Aphrodite nervously. "You got this?" he asked.

"I'm winging it, right now, buster," The Goddess said nervously.

"Oh, great!" Gabrielle cried.

"It'll be okay," David whispered soothingly. "We can do this."

"Fine!" Gabrielle groaned. "Then you do this part!"

"Funny," Aphrodite said nervously. Her eyes went wide. "I can see the head!"

Tommy paced about the living room nervously. Then she heard Gabrielle give a long, painful wail and he about lost it, right there.

"Christ!" He muttered to himself. "You'd think it was my own kid being born!" He laughed nervously.

After several long, agonizing hours, Aphrodite came out into the room and grabbed one of the baby blankets that they had picked up on their shopping spree and vanished back into the room. Then she came back out again, looking moderately disheveled, but grinning broadly. From the room, Tommy heard the sound of a baby crying.

"They did it?" He asked expectantly.

Aphrodite nodded excitedly. "Come on in."

When Tommy followed Aphrodite into the room, he saw Gabrielle, pale and weak, smiling with a small bundle in her arms. David knelt next to her, his hand reaching into the bundle to move a fold of cloth. He was still flexing the fingers of his other hand experimentally.

"Look at you," he said, grinning stupidly. Then he kissed Gabrielle's cheek and looked back down at the tiny life in her arms. A tiny hand wrapped about David's forefinger, and he laughed quietly.

"You did it," He whispered.

"We did it," Gabrielle corrected him. She looked into his eyes and smiled wearily. Then she looked up at Tommy and Aphrodite. "Come in and meet your niece."

"Niece?" Aphrodite said in surprise.

Gabrielle nodded. "You're part of the family too, you know?"

She looked down at her daughter and smiled.

"This is Uncle Tommy and Aunt Aphrodite," she explained.

Aphrodite blushed. The two of them stepped to the other side of the bed and looked down at the tiny face. It looked up at them questioningly, with clear, blue eyes.

"Hey there, doodlebug," Tommy said softly. "What's your name?"

"Duh!" Aphrodite said, smiling down at the baby. "As if there's any doubt?"

David and Gabrielle smiled, and Gabrielle kissed the tiny forehead.

"Hello, Xena."

END


End file.
